The purpose of this study is to see if the use of a machine called CPAP will help children with asthma breathe better. CPAP is a machine that produces airflow to help people with breathing problems. To use it, you will wear a mask connected by a hose to the CPAP machine. We believe that use of CPAP may be a treatment for children with asthma.
During the previous funding period of this project, our laboratory demonstrated that chronic mechanical strain imposed on the airways in vivo using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) results in a dramatic reduction in airway reactivity in vivo in mice, ferrets and rabbits1-3. Lungs, airways and airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissues isolated from CPAP-treated animals studied in vitro exhibited lower responsiveness to bronchoconstrictors1-3. We also observed this suppression of airway responsiveness by chronic mechanical strain in a rabbit model of allergic asthma5. These animal studies led to a small clinical trial in which adults with asthma were treated with nocturnal CPAP for 1 week. CPAP caused a significant reduction in airway reactivity in these patients6. This novel approach for treating airway hyper-reactivity is currently being evaluated in a NIH multi-center Phase II clinical trial of adults with mild to moderate asthma (U01 HL108730).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
84
Subjects assigned to this group will be asked to use the CPAP machine for a minimum of 4 hours/night at least 5 days/week for a total of 4 weeks.
Subjects assigned to this group will be asked to use the CPAP Sham machine for a minimum of 4 hours/night at least 5 days/week for a total of 4 weeks.
Riley Hospital for Children
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Change in Airway Reactivity From Baseline (Visit 1) and 4 Weeks (Visit 2)
The change in airway reactivity measured prior to and after 4 weeks of either CPAP or SHAM treatment. Methacholine bronchial challenge was performed using the 5-breath protocol (DeVilbiss646 with KoKo dosimeter: 9 μL/breath) with quadrupling concentrations starting with 0.0625 mg/mL and continuing until FEV1 decreased by 20% (PC20) or Methacholine concentration of 16 mg/mL was inhaled.
Time frame: baseline (visit 1) and 4 weeks (visit 2)
Change in Airway Inflammation From Baseline (Visit 1) and 4 Weeks (Visit 2)
Airway Inflammation assessed as the change in the percentage eosinophils in the induced sputum measured prior to and after 4 weeks of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or sham CPAP treatment.
Time frame: baseline (visit 1) and 4 weeks (visit 2)
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