Influence of the Vitabreath device on exercise tolerance in COPD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Influence of the VitaBreath device on exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
IRAS ID
221120
Contact name
Stephen Bourke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
People with COPD have more air in their lungs than other people (this problem with high lung volumes is called “hyperinflation”). Unfortunately this is unhelpful as breathing at higher lung volumes requires more effort and contributes to breathlessness. When anyone exercises, they breathe more quickly. People with COPD have narrowed airways, which makes breathing out difficult. When they breathe more quickly they may not be able to breathe out fully before they need to take the next breath in. This means that the volume of air in their lungs tends to increase further during exercise, which makes breathing even more difficult. This problem is called “dynamic hyperinflation”.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the most helpful interventions for people with COPD and most of the benefit gained is from exercise. Anything that helps people increase the amount of exercise they can perform should lead to further improvements. Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation is a method of supporting a person’s normal breathing. The ventilator delivers a flow of air at low pressure as you breathe out, which helps you to breathe out more completely. The device also detects when you start to breathe in and delivers a stronger flow of air at a higher pressure, helping you to take a deeper breath in. Previous research studies have shown that when people with COPD use non-invasive ventilation during exercise they are able to exercise for longer and are less breathless. The purpose of this study is to assess whether a new portable non-invasive ventilation device, called the VitaBreath, helps people with COPD recover from breathlessness during the exercise breaks more quickly (by reducing “dynamic hyperinflation”, described above) and to 2 exercise for longer overall. The VitaBreath device is small and light, weighing 0.5 kilograms (just over one pound). It is handheld and battery powered.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NE/0085
Date of REC Opinion
6 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion