Preterm lung function and exercise response measured by OEP (Version1)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Lung function and exercise response measured by optoelectronic plethysmography in school-age children born preterm.

• IRAS ID

  249128

• Contact name

  Christopher O'Brien

• Contact email

  christopher.o'brien@nuth.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 9 months, 3 days

• Research summary

  Extremely premature infants are born during a critical stage of development, before their lungs are fully matured. Many develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is characterised by abnormal lung structure and airway inflammation as a result of premature birth and the trauma of mechanical ventilation. Children with BPD often need oxygen for weeks or months, and can have abnormalities in lung function that persist with age.

  Previous studies have shown that children with BPD have reduced lung function and limited exercise capacity. However, these studies have used conventional lung function and exercise testing which requires a tight fitting mask. This is uncomfortable, may alter normal breathing patterns and cannot measure changes in total lung volume. Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) is a technique to indirectly measure lung volumes using cameras to track the position of marker stickers on the chest, back and abdomen. It is comfortable, does not require a mask and allows us to track changes in lung volume. It has also been shown that lung function in many preterm children improves after a salbutamol inhaler, but a number of these children are not on any treatment.

  In this study we will use OEP to measure lung function and breathing patterns with exercise in children aged 8-16 years who were born prematurely with and without BPD, compared to healthy children born at full term.

  We will recruit children born very prematurely (<32 weeks) with no/mild or significant BPD, and healthy children born at term. All participants will complete a questionnaire and a structured interview to qualitatively assess respiratory health. They will then undergo basic lung function testing including response to salbutamol, and an exercise test using OEP to assess how breathing changes with exercise.

• REC name

  North East - York Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  19/NE/0005

• Date of REC Opinion

  8 Feb 2019

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion