Recovery in community-acquired pneumonia - An exploratory study

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Recovery in adult patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia - an exploratory study

  • IRAS ID

    242481

  • Contact name

    Maria Koufali

  • Contact email

    Maria.Koufali@nuh.nhs.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 11 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious illness affecting patients in the community and often leading to hospital admission. Most hospitalised patients are discharged home to continue their recovery after a brief inpatient stay. Symptoms can persist for many weeks following discharge, impacting a patients quality of life and daily activity.

    The majority of research in CAP has focused on diagnosis and management, with only a small number of studies investigating CAP recovery. The conducted studies have not been consistent in their approach, using a variety of tools to measure recovery in different patient groups. There is a poor understanding of a) what normal recovery is, b) the relationship between patient-reported symptoms and markers of illness such as blood tests or lung function tests, c) the mechanisms that underlie normal and impaired recovery, and d) possible intervention that may improve recovery.

    This study aims to describe recovery following discharge from hospital in 20 participants diagnosed with CAP. Participants will be assessed using several different tools across multiple different areas including patient-reported symptoms, functional activity, exercise tolerance, lung function, memory, blood markers, and x-ray changes.

    The objectives are, a) to systematically and comprehensively describe recovery, and b) to determine which of the tools used to measure recovery in each domain is the most suitable, accurate, and tolerable.

    It is anticipated that this exploratory study will identify which tools and approaches should be used in larger studies of CAP recovery. Defining a consistent approach to investigating recovery in CAP will allow the development of evidence to influence international guidelines for CAP management, including the identification of novel targets for new interventions, eventually reducing burden of disease for patients.

  • REC name

    West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    18/WM/0117

  • Date of REC Opinion

    23 Apr 2018

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion