We will shortly be commencing an exciting new multi-site clinical research trial to assess spirometry tests performed in our research centre to ‘remote’ spirometry tests that patients can conduct at home, with guidance and assessment from research staff.
COMPAIR: A Comparison of Clinic-based Versus Home-based Spirometry
The trial is funded by AstraZeneca and is led by Professor Tim Harrison with co-investigators Dr Matthew Martin and Dr Ashish Pradhan from NIHR Nottingham BRC.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Rotherham NHS Foundation
Trust will also be recruiting participants into the trial.
What is the purpose of the study?
1: Spirometry
Spirometry is a breathing or ‘lung function’ test, which usually takes place in a GP practice, a hospital, a clinic or at a research centre. Spirometry is a non-invasive test which is used to help diagnose and assess lung conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It measures how much air a patient can breathe out from their lungs and how fast they can blow it out in a set time.
However, it is usually a one-off test and its quality is dependent on whether the patient’s symptoms are in control at the time of the assessment. If they are having a bad day with their breathing, it can make interpreting the results difficult. It is also important that patients perform the test with a standard technique and that this technique is assessed by a healthcare or research professional.
2: The reason for doing the research
Spirometry is an essential tool in the monitoring of people with asthma and COPD. As such it is an important measure in much of the research which takes place into respiratory conditions
Visits to a research centre may be inconvenient and time consuming for those patients who are interested in research. Increasing the number of study visits and tests which could take place in the home or ‘remote’ setting would reduce the need for visits to these centres and would enable us to design research studies which are ‘real world’. It would allow more spirometry results to be collected, rather than a one-off result. It would also potentially increase the number of patients who would have the opportunity to take part in research.
3. The aims of the study
The purpose of this study is to compare spirometry tests in the research centre to ‘remote’ spirometry tests that patients can conduct at home, with guidance and assessment from research staff. We would like to see how a group of participants with asthma and COPD perform spirometry on a portable device at the research centre and then at home.
We also want to ask your opinion about the home spirometry in this study, to ensure that it is a positive experience for future research participants.
4. Our goal
Our goal is evaluate the accuracy of home spirometry by assessing any differences in the results from the tests in the clinic and at home. This will hopefully enable us to increase the amount of spirometry testing in research studies, which can take place in the home setting.