Acute Exacerbation of COPD

This study is a randomized controlled trial designed to compare the effectiveness of active remote intervention versus passive monitoring alone in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure who are receiving home non-invasive respiratory support. The primary goal is to evaluate the impact on health-related quality of life and the frequency of acute exacerbations over a 12-month period.

Introduction Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are a major source of morbidity, mortality and antibiotic consumption worldwide. Although international guidance now recommends short antibiotic courses for AECOPD, prescribing in many tertiary hospitals in Pakistan is neither standardised nor guideline-concordant, and prolonged courses remain common. Reducing unnecessary antibiotic exposure is a recognised strategy to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but locally generated evidence on the safety and efficacy of shorter courses is lacking. Method and analysis This multicentre, prospective, parallel-group, open-label, randomised controlled non-inferiority trial will compare a 7-day antibiotic regimen (experimental) with the locally conventional 14-day regimen (active control) in adults hospitalised with AECOPD requiring antibiotics. Participants will be randomised 1:1 with allocation stratified by site. The primary outcome is clinical success at Day 30 after randomisation, defined as resolution or substantial improvement of baseline exacerbation symptoms without need for additional systemic antibiotics, major treatment modification, or readmission for treatment failure. Assuming 80% clinical success in both arms, a non-inferiority margin of 7-or8 percentage points, one-sided α = 0.025 and 80% power, 251 participants per arm are required; allowing for 10% attrition, the target is 558 participants (279 per arm). The primary analysis will estimate the between-group risk difference with its two-sided 95% confidence interval in both the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations; non-inferiority will be concluded if the lower confidence limit lies above 10 percentage points in both populations. Secondary outcomes include time to symptom resolution, antibiotic-related adverse events, treatment failure, relapse, rehospitalisation, all-cause mortality and antibiotic consumption. Ethics and dissemination The ethical approval has been obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the hospital (IRB-113-07-08-25). The outcomes and findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles and will engage policymakers on various forums, including clinical settings. Discussion The optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for AECOPD remains uncertain. Shorter treatment courses may reduce antibiotic exposure, adverse events, and the development of AMR. This trial will compare the effectiveness and safety of 7-day and 14-day antibiotic regimens in patients with AECOPD. The findings may help inform clinical guidelines and promote more appropriate antibiotic use.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes about 3 million deaths annually and significantly burdens healthcare systems, costing the EU 38.6 billion euros, largely due to frequent hospitalizations triggered by acute exacerbations (AECOPD). AECOPD worsens patient health, accelerates lung decline, and lowers quality of life, highlighting the need for early detection. Moreover, these AECOPD events happen in an out-hospital setting and are therefore, not preventable. A clear clinical and quality-of-life need arises to reduce AECOPD-related events and consequent hospitalizations. Mobile health (mHealth) offers a solution by monitoring patients remotely using unobtrusive wearable devices. Parameters like peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and respiratory rate can detect and predict exacerbations. However, no data at home is available of AECOPD events and robust predictive algorithms are lacking. This study aims to monitor vital parameters at home, tracking physical activity, pulse, respiratory rate, SpO2, sleep, and skin temperature from the moment of ER admission until three months post-discharge. Data will be used to gain insight in the COPD progression following an AECOPD event and to construct a predictive model, enabling timely intervention, reducing hospitalizations, and improving outcomes.

In this pilot study the feasibility of performing a larger trial to study the non-inferiority of High Flow Nasal Oxygen compared to non-invasive ventilation in patients with acute acidotic hypercapnic exacerbation of COPD wil be investigated

COPD is a common chronic disease. Its natural course is characterized by Acute exacerbations (AE). This may require hospitalization or even ICU/RESUSCITATION admission. The most common causes are respiratory distress with hypercapnic acidosis that requires mechanical ventilation (Invasive or non-invasive). Lower respiratory tract infections, bacteria and/or viruses are the main pathogenic factors of AE. The treatment of AECOPD is initially symptomatic treatment, combining bronchodilators, ventilatory support (oxygen therapy and/or mechanical ventilation) and respiratory physiotherapy. Systemic corticosteroid therapy is optional. When i) the sputum is purulent and ii) increased dyspnea and / or an increase in sputum volume is observed, antibiotic treatment is recommended for hospitalized patients. Antibiotic therapy is routinely recommended when mechanical ventilation is required. During ICU/RESUSCITATION AECOPD, more than 85% of patients received antibiotic therapy, with a median duration of 8 to 9 days, and the benefit of antibiotic therapy is likely to be limited to infected patients. Suspected or documented lower respiratory tract bacteria, that is, 25% to 50% of patients. This will lead to overuse of antibiotics, which is a problem for patients and the community. A personalized antibiotic strategy could limit this phenomenon, relying on multimodal methods, using aspect of sputum (clinical method), procalcitonin (PCT) (biological method) and the FilmArray ™ Pneumonia Panel extended panel multiplex respiratory PCR Plus (mPCR FA-PPP) (Biomérieux®) (microbiological approach). The hypothesis of this study is that sputum appearance, procalcitonin (PCT) and the FilmArray ™ Pneumonia Panel Plus expanded panel multiplex respiratory PCR (mPCR FA-PPP) (Biomérieux®) could be used in combination , and their results integrated into a decision-making algorithm aimed at personalizing antibiotic therapy and guiding its early termination in patients admitted to ICU/RESUSCITATION due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) to the main benefit of antibiotic savings, and without additional risk to patient safety.

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common condition and the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. With the rise of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), mortality among patients admitted for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure has decreased, though to a lesser extent than reported in the studies that validated this technique. We hypothesize that inappropriate initial ventilatory parameter settings for NIV could be associated with increased morbidity and mortality in this context. Objective The primary objective of this study is to assess the initial NIV settings used in intensive care units (ICUs) and respiratory intensive care or medical intensive care units (MICUs) in this patient population. A secondary objective is to evaluate whether specific ventilatory settings are associated with mortality or the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Methods This is a prospective multicenter observational study aiming to include 976 patients. NIV settings will be recorded at initiation, after the first recommended arterial blood gas (ABG) evaluation (between 1.5 and 2 hours of ventilation), and at 24 and 48 hours. Patient characteristics, including medical history, clinical and biological parameters at admission, will be collected. Vital status and the need for IMV will be recorded at ICU discharge and on day 28 (D28).

Objectives: To determine whether CRP-guided antibiotic treatment for managing AECOPD in adult patients attending Emergency Departments leads to reduced antibiotic duration, without non-inferior COPD health status with usual care. Hypothesis to be tested: (i) The antibiotic duration in AECOPD patients will be significantly lower for CRP-guided antibiotic discontinuation than usual care; and (ii) COPD health status as measured by the Clinical COPD Questionnaire has no statistically significant difference between two groups. Design and subjects: Multi-center, single-blind, open-label, randomized, combined superiority (antibiotic duration) and non-inferiority (COPD health status) trial in 1,184 adult AECOPD patients presented to A\&E. Instruments: Clinical COPD Questionnaire and EuroQol-5D Interventions: Both intervention and control groups follow usual care with GOLD strategy. The intervention group will be recommended to test for serum CRP daily. Antibiotic prescription is considered when CRP \>5mg/dL. Once CRP has declined to \<5mg/dL and the patient was afebrile for past 48 hours, antibiotic discontinuation will be considered. Communication with Receiving Ward Staffs: Participants in the study may transfer to another departments after treatment/ care in A\&E. The following communication would be conducted: * A handover note that informs the receiving ward staffs about patients' enrolment to the trial, group assignment, and previous treatments given in A\&E. The note would also suggest the investigations for the receiving ward staffs. * Telephone handover about intervention group and investigations of the study, and treatments given in A\&E to ward. Main outcome measures: The antibiotic duration (total number of antibiotic days) within 28 days and recovery in terms of COPD health status (Clinical COPD Questionnaire total scores) within 14 days from randomisation. Data analysis: Intention-to-treat and cost-effectiveness analyses will be performed. The outcome assessors and data analysts will be blinded to group allocation. Expected results: The intervention group will exhibit reduction in antibiotic duration at 4-weeks, without negatively impacting on COPD health status, compared with the control group.