Bronchiectasis is a clinical syndrome characterised by chronic cough, profuse sputum and/or intermittent haemoptysis, with or without shortness of breath and respiratory failure of varying severity, and abnormal thickening and dilatation of the bronchial walls as seen on lung imaging. Nebulised inhalation of N-acetylcysteine has been shown to significantly improve symptoms, shorten the length of hospital stay, reduce the rate of re-hospitalisation within six months, and improve lung function in patients with bronchiectasis with a high degree of safety. There have been no studies on the efficacy and safety of bronchoscopic irrigation with N-acetylcysteine solution in the treatment of bronchiectasis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether bronchoscopic acetylcysteine lavage combined with conventional treatment is more beneficial to patients with bronchiectasis than conventional treatment combined with conventional bronchoalveolar lavage and conventional treatment without bronchoscopy, respectively.
All patients enrolled were patients with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis. A total of 180 patients (1:1:1 allocation) with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis were to be enrolled. The patients were divided into control group A (conventional clinical treatment including anti-infective and expectorant therapy), control group B (bronchoalveolar lavage with saline on the basis of conventional clinical treatment, with a volume of 90 ml per target lung lobe, up to a maximum of 2 lobes, and a total volume of up to 180 ml), and experimental group C (bronchoalveolar lavage with acetylcysteine solution in combination with saline on the basis of conventional clinical treatment, with a volume of 90 ml per target lung lobe, up to a maximum of 2 lobes, and a total volume of up to 180 ml).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
180
Bronchoalveolar lavage with saline or saline-acetylcysteine solution on the basis of conventional clinical treatment, with a volume of 90 ml per target lung lobe, up to a maximum of 2 lobes, and a total volume of up to 180 ml.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University
Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
RECRUITINGTime of first and second acute exacerbation
Description: Length of post-treatment time points to first acute exacerbation (days) and length of time points to second acute exacerbation (days) in all three groups of patients.
Time frame: six months
The change of mMRC scores
The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). Categorised on a scale of 0 to 4, the higher the scale the more severe the symptoms are.
Time frame: one month
The change of CAT scores.
COPD assessment test (CAT) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). A score of 0-10 is considered mild, 11-20 is considered moderate, 21-30 is considered severe, and 31-40 is considered very severe.
Time frame: one month
The change of LCQ scores.
Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). Scores range from 3 to 21, with lower scores suggesting that cough has a greater impact on quality of life.
Time frame: one month
The change of SGQR scores.
St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). The total score ranges from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate poorer quality of life for the patient.
Time frame: one month
Number of acute exacerbations
Number of acute exacerbations in the three groups at 6 months after treatment.
Time frame: six months
adverse effects
Occurrence of post-treatment adverse effects (chest tightness, shortness of breath, worsening of respiratory failure, worsening of haemoptysis, complication of new pneumonia foci or signs of significant new infections considered to be related to lavage treatment) in the three groups of patients.
Time frame: one month
Re-treatment with bronchoalveolar lavage
Hospitalisation for acute exacerbations requiring re-bronchoscopic lavage within 6 months in all three groups (re-bronchoscopic lavage may be considered for exacerbations after treatment: significant increase in sputum output, increase in the size of the lesion on CT).
Time frame: six months
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