Psychological Processes and Cough in IPF
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Psychological Processes and Cough in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
IRAS ID
236357
Contact name
Ben Hope-Gill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a condition that causes progressive scarring of the lungs (fibrosis). It has a rising incidence in the UK and the median survival is 2-3 years from diagnosis. There is currently no cure for IPF and a only a few medications that slow the rate of progression. Because of this, one main aim is to try and improve the symptoms of the disease.
One of the most distressing symptoms is a dry cough, which is experienced by more than 80% of patients and is associated with a poor quality of life. We do not properly understand the cause of the cough, which makes it very difficult to treat. We think that some of the nerves are over-sensitive and part of the feeling of needing to cough, involves the brain. There are many things that may influence the way the brain recognises the sensation of needing to cough, some of these could involve feelings of anxiety and depression, personality and the state of the mind.
We aim to investigate these relationships carefully by looking at the association of psychological and behavioural factors with measurements of cough severity. Hopefully this will allow more targeted treatments in the future.
Patients with IPF and a long term cough, under our usual care in Cardiff and Vale will be approached. They will have their normal lung function measured and will be asked to fill in a questionnaire pack which with will evaluate their cough, breathlessness, anxiety and depression, state of mind, personality, illness perception and fatigue. They will be fitted with a recording device to detect the number of coughs in a 24 hour period. This is to determine if their perception of their cough correlates with the actual number of coughs. This will be the end of their involvement in the study.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NE/0378
Date of REC Opinion
7 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion