Home monitoring study of cystic fibrosis patients expands
Pulmonary researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and University of Washington have expanded the Early Intervention in Cystic Fibrosis Exacerbation (eICE) study, including an additional 12 investigative sites that are now enrolling patients to the randomized study, which was initiated in February 2012.
The study is designed to determine the efficacy of home lung function testing and symptom diary use for early intervention in the treatment of adolescent and adult cystic fibrosis (CF) acute pulmonary exacerbation.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the study will compare standard care to an intervention arm. Patients enrolled in the early intervention arm are using ERT’s AM2+ lung function monitors--a portable spirometer and electronic diary–-twice weekly to measure FEV1 and to enter responses to the CF Respiratory Symptom Diary questionnaire. Equipped with remote data transmission, the AM2+ transfers the data to the investigative site, which enables the physician to monitor the patient’s entries. If spirometry values or symptoms have deteriorated substantially, treatment for a CF pulmonary exacerbation are initiated.
By expanding the number of investigative sites, the researchers are aiming to enroll an additional 120 patients, according to the Philadelphia-based ERT.