EHPC in COPD and Cigarette Smoking
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experimental Human Pneumococcal Challenge (EHPC) in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cigarette Smoking
IRAS ID
249671
Contact name
Andrea Collins
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Why? Pneumococcus bacteria can cause severe infection such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis particularly in those with lower immunity, the very young and elderly.
How? This bacteria is commonly present in the nose of healthy adults without any sign of illness (10%) and more often carried by children (50%) this carriage may develop a natural immunity to the infection, but also is needed for invasive infection to develop. Groups that are more susceptible to pneumococcal disease include smokers and patients with COPD. We plan to recruit smokers 18-50 years old and patients with COPD 50-84 years old to be inoculated with pneumococcus bacteria in the nose. The participants will be monitored and given antibiotics if they are colonisation positive at any time point at the the end of the study.
Where? The study will be conducted at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine with clinical procedures being undertaken in the Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator Building’s Accelerator Research Clinic (ARC) which is a LSTM sponsored research clinic on a NHS site. Healthy volunteers will be recruited from the local advertising including at universities and in public places.REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NW/0479
Date of REC Opinion
7 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion