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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03073798

The Effectiveness of Roflumilast in Improving Mucociliary Clearance in Patients With COPD and Chronic Bronchitis

Specific Aim: To determine the effectiveness of Roflumilast in improving i) whole right lung and ii) peripheral right lung mucociliary clearance (MCC) in patients with COPD and chronic bronchitis.

Hypothesis: Roflumilast increases mucociliary clearance in patients with chronic bronchitis.

Study Design: This will be a double-blinded, cross-over randomized controlled trial with 1:1 randomization of 20 individuals with chronic bronchitis. Subjects will undergo baseline MCC then will be randomized to either roflumilast or placebo x 4 weeks, then there will be a 4 week wash-out phase and a second 4 week period of roflumilast/placebo depending on initial randomization. MCC will be conducted at baseline and at the end of each 4 week medication phase.

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Key information

About this study

The purpose of this study is to investigate how well Roflumilast improves mucociliary clearance in people with chronic bronchitis. Several studies show that roflumilast may modulate (change) mucociliary function. This study is designed to determine if these favorable effects lead to improved mucociliary clearance (MCC) in people with chronic bronchitis, thereby, reducing the potential for acute infections and hospitalizations. Daliresp® (roflumilast) is a drug currently marketed (approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans) in the U.S. and is indicated (used) for treatment of people with severe COPD to treat the symptoms of cough and excess mucous linked to chronic bronchitis. Roflumilast is used to reduce the risk (chance) of COPD exacerbations (increase in symptoms such as cough, mucus secretions, and shortness of breath, that can be life threatening and reduces the ability to breathe) linked to chronic bronchitis (swelling of the airways in the lungs). Roflumilast is FDA approved to decrease the number of flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients with severe COPD with chronic bronchitis and a history of flare-ups. The exact way Roflumilast does this is not known. Although Roflumilast is an FDA approved drug, in this study the drug is not being used for its FDA-approved indication.

If you agree to be in this study, you will receive no new COPD treatment other than the drugs provided for the study. You will also be given a tablet to take once a day, which will be placebo for at least part of the study. A placebo is a substance that looks like the study drug but that contains no active ingredients.

The study is a double-blind study. Double-blind means that neither you nor the study doctor will know which study regimen (roflumilast or placebo) you are receiving throughout the study. However, this information can be made available if medically necessary and as determined by the participant's study. You will undergo baseline mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements then will be randomized (by chance, like the flip of a coin) to receive either roflumilast or placebo for 4 weeks, then there will be a 4 week wash-out phase, and a second 4 week period of roflumilast/placebo depending on initial randomization. Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements will be conducted at the beginning and at the end of each 4 week study regimen phase. You will be in the study for about 12 weeks and there will be up to 12 visits. At baseline, and prior to each MCC Procedure, you will have health assessments which may include Physical Examination, Health and Demographic Interview, Exhaled Carbon Monoxide (eCO) Testing, Spirometry (Breathing Test), Expectorated Sputum Collection, Pregnancy Testing and Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Measurements.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Physician diagnosis of COPD
  • Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) / Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ≤70%
  • FEV1 (% predicted) ≥40 % AND ≤ 70%,
  • Tobacco exposure ≥ 10 pack-years,
  • Chronic cough and sputum production
  • At least one COPD exacerbation requiring systemic glucocorticosteroids or treatment in hospital, or both, in the previous year
  • Not suffering from any concomitant disease that might interfere with study procedures or evaluations.

Exclusion criteria

  • COPD exacerbation indicated by a treatment with systemic glucocorticosteroids and/or antibiotics not stopped at least 4 weeks prior to the baseline visit V0
  • Lower respiratory tract infection not resolved 4 weeks prior to the baseline visit V0
  • Diagnosis of asthma and/or other relevant lung disease (e.g. history of bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, bronchiolitis, lung resection, lung cancer, interstitial lung disease [e.g. fibrosis, silicosis, sarcoidosis], and active tuberculosis
  • Known alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
  • Known infection with HIV and/or active hepatitis
  • Pregnancy or women of childbearing potential not using or willing to continue using a medically reliable method of contraception for the entire study period
  • Suspected hypersensitivity to the study medication (roflumilast).
  • Use of mucolytics within the last 4 weeks.

Treatment and study plan

Roflumilast

Drug

500 mcg of Roflumilast which is a prescription medicine used in adults with severe COPD to decrease the number of flare-ups or the worsening of COPD symptoms

Other names: Daliresp

Placebo

Drug

500 mcg of placebo is used

Other names: Sugar Pill

Primary outcomes

  1. Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A

    Time frame: Change from 0 to 30 minutes

    Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil.

    After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.

  2. Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A

    Time frame: Change from 0 to 60 minutes

    Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil.

    After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.

  3. Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1A and Visit 2A

    Time frame: Change from 0 to 90 minutes

    Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil.

    After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.

  4. Difference in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) Between Visit 1B and Visit 2B

    Time frame: Change from 0 min to 24 hours

    Measurements of MCC (Mucociliary clearance) will be obtained using a large-field-of-view 2D gamma camera (Siemens Orbiter) following inhalation of a radioaerosol containing a gamma emitting isotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid. The total exposure to radiation from procedures associated with the MCC studies is similar to that of a chest x-ray and is much less than the 0.3 rem that the average person in the United States gets each year from natural sources like the sun, outer space, air, food, and soil.

    After inhaling (0 time point) an aerosol generated from a saline solution containing the radioisotope 99mtechnetium (99mTc)-sulfur-colloid (radioaerosol), subjects will sit with their back to a gamma camera. The gamma camera will acquire an image of where the isotopic marker initially deposits in the right lung at time 0 and how much remains in the lungs at the specified time point and will be measured in change of %/min from 0 min time point.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2013
Primary completion
2015
Study completion
2015
First posted
Mar 8, 2017
Registry last updated
Jul 27, 2017

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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