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AsthmaNCT00182481

LOMA: Long-Term Management of Asthma

A study testing Induced sputum cell counts and inhaled corticosteroids and other asthma drugs in people with Asthma, run by Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation at 1 site in Canada.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of induced sputum cell counts could guide treatment of asthma more effectively than the use of symptoms and breathing tests. The main outcomes where the time to the first exacerbation and the number of exacerbations. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 70 years
Conditions the study is for
Asthma
What is being tested?
Induced sputum cell counts and inhaled corticosteroids and other asthma drugs
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
112 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Sep 1999to Sep 2001
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • History of asthma for at least one year,confirmed objectively.
  • New or previously reviewed patients where the minimal treatment requirements have not been established within the last six months.

Who cannot join

  • Smokers or ex-smokers for less than 6 months with a smoking history of more than 10 pack years.
  • Other pulmonary co-morbidity (other than mild or moderate chronic airflow limitation).
  • Subjects having a co-existing illness that precludes them from the study.
  • Inability to give informed consent due to mental or legal reasons.
  • Pregnancy or lactation.
  • Known non-compliance with medications.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph's Healthcare

    Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 4A6

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Long Term Management of Asthma (LOMA) Study- How Useful is the Sputum Count Compared With the Usual Clincal Variables?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of induced sputum cell counts could guide treatment of asthma more effectively than the use of symptoms and breathing tests. The main outcomes where the time to the first exacerbation and the number of exacerbations.

Read the detailed description

Airway inflammation is an important component of asthma. It influences other components which include symptoms and airway functional (physiological) measurements. It is the primary target of treatment. However, it does not correlate closely with symptoms, need for symptomatic bronchodilator relief, or the physiological abnormalities. Furthermore, it can be of different types. As a result, physicians are poor at recognizing its presence or type. This is important because eosinophilic inflammation is responsive to corticosteroid while non-eosinophilic is not responsive.

The most comprehensive non-invasive or relatively non-invasive measurement of airway inflammation is by spontaneous or induced sputum cell counts. These are reliable, valid and responsive, the qualities of good measurements. They might therefore be clinically useful to guide individual treatment. In the present study we investigated this issue. We compared their use, in comparison with the use only of symptoms and spirometry, in preventing exacerbations of asthma. We chose prevention of exacerbations as the most important clinical outcome because these have the greatest impact on patient's quality of life, morbidity and healthcare utilization. The study comprised two Phases. In Phase 1, the minimum treatment to control sputum eosinophilia (as well as clinical criteria) in the Sputum Strategy, and clinical criteria in the Clinical Strategy, were established. In Phase 2, this minimum treatment was maintained and patients were seen every 3 momths and at exacerbations. The primary outcomes were the relative risk reduction for the occurrence of the first exacerbation and the length of time without exacerbation over 18-20 months in Phase 2 of the study.

Conditions
Asthma
Being tested
Induced sputum cell counts, inhaled corticosteroids and other asthma drugs
Keywords
asthma treatment, induced sputum cell counts, asthma exacerbations, eosinophilic bronchitis, non-eosinophilic bronchitis
Medical subject headings
Asthma

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Induced sputum cell countsProcedure or surgery

  • inhaled corticosteroids and other asthma drugsDrug

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Relative risk reduction for the occurence of the first exacerbation and the length of time without exacerbation during Phase 2 of the study.

Secondary outcomes (11)
  1. Secondary outcomes were

  2. The cellular type of exacerbation that was influenced,

  3. The severity of asthma that was helped,

  4. The dose of inhaled corticosteroid that was required,

  5. Symptom control,

  6. Quality of life,

  7. FEV1

  8. Methacholine PC20,

  9. Exhaled NO,

  10. Cost effectiveness and cost benefit of sputum cell counts, Airway structural changes

  11. Skin bruising score.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted16 Sep 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startSep 1999
  3. Study completionSep 2001

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Enrolment
112 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00182481
Sponsor's protocol ID
RP#97-1549
Other IDs
MCT-44158
Status last verified
Oct 2003
First submitted
12 Sep 2005
Last updated
16 Dec 2005
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Cockcroft DW, Swystun VA. Asthma control versus asthma severity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1996 Dec;98(6 Pt 1):1016-8. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(96)80185-0. No abstract available.

    PubMed 8977499
  • Pavord ID, Brightling CE, Woltmann G, Wardlaw AJ. Non-eosinophilic corticosteroid unresponsive asthma. Lancet. 1999 Jun 26;353(9171):2213-4. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01813-9. No abstract available.

    PubMed 10392993
  • Parameswaran K, Pizzichini E, Pizzichini MM, Hussack P, Efthimiadis A, Hargreave FE. Clinical judgement of airway inflammation versus sputum cell counts in patients with asthma. Eur Respir J. 2000 Mar;15(3):486-90. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-3003.2000.15.10.x.

    PubMed 10759441
  • Belda J, Leigh R, Parameswaran K, O'Byrne PM, Sears MR, Hargreave FE. Induced sputum cell counts in healthy adults. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000 Feb;161(2 Pt 1):475-8. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.161.2.9903097.

    PubMed 10673188
  • Gibson PG, Simpson JL, Saltos N. Heterogeneity of airway inflammation in persistent asthma : evidence of neutrophilic inflammation and increased sputum interleukin-8. Chest. 2001 May;119(5):1329-36. doi: 10.1378/chest.119.5.1329.

    PubMed 11348936
  • Green RH, Brightling CE, McKenna S, Hargadon B, Parker D, Bradding P, Wardlaw AJ, Pavord ID. Asthma exacerbations and sputum eosinophil counts: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2002 Nov 30;360(9347):1715-21. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11679-5.

    PubMed 12480423
  • Djukanovic R, Sterk PJ, Fahy JV, Hargreave FE. Standardised methodology of sputum induction and processing. Eur Respir J Suppl. 2002 Sep;37:1s-2s. doi: 10.1183/09031936.02.00000102. No abstract available.

    PubMed 12361359
  • Pizzichini MMM, Jayaram L, Pizzichini E, Boulet LP, Lemière C, Efithmiades A, Cartier A, Hargreave FE. O exame das células no escarro induzido pode alterar as exacerbações da asma? O estudo LOMA. Respirtory Society Meeting. Bahia- Brazil. J Bras Pneum 2004, 30: S24

  • Pizzichini MMM, Pizzichini E, Jayaram L, Boulet LP, Lemière C, Efithmiades A, Cartier A, Hargreave FE. Monitorando o tratamento da asma através do escarro induzido : efeito nas exacerbações. Latina America Thoracic Society Meeting, ALAT. Buenos Aires-Argentina. Arch de Bronconeumologia 2004, 40 S88-89.

  • Jayaram L, Pizzichini MM, Cook RJ, Boulet LP, Lemiere C, Pizzichini E, Cartier A, Hussack P, Goldsmith CH, Laviolette M, Parameswaran K, Hargreave FE. Determining asthma treatment by monitoring sputum cell counts: effect on exacerbations. Eur Respir J. 2006 Mar;27(3):483-94. doi: 10.1183/09031936.06.00137704.

    PubMed 16507847

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Induced sputum cell counts and inhaled corticosteroids and other asthma drugs in people with Asthma, run by Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation at 1 site in Canada.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Dec 2005. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Relative risk reduction for the occurence of the first exacerbation and the length of time without exacerbation during Phase 2 of the study.. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00182481, which also lists 10 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Dec 2005.

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