Multiple Breath Washout, a Clinimetric Dataset

Lung Clearance Index (LCI) has been shown to be more sensitive and perhaps more applicable in early stages of lung disease when compared to currently utilised physiological outcome measures, and yet it is not approved by regulatory agencies as a recognised surrogate outcome measure. This may highlight some of the lack of understanding within MBW; what is the best equipment to use, what is the minimal value of change to show an improvement in LCI, what is LCI's correlation with clinical outcome measures and what does the progression of LCI tell us about lung disease. These questions will be addressed with a view to contributing a body of data to guide decisions around its utility in both interventional drug trials and for monitoring in a clinical setting. The aim of this study is to assess the suitability of LCI as a clinical outcome measure for both clinical trials and clinical monitoring of patients with inflammatory respiratory disease across the disease spectrum. Different testing modalities will be compared as well as assess the repeatability and validity of LCI for its determination as an outcome measure. Long-term follow up will allow an assessment of the relationship between LCI and future outcomes such as rate of decline in lung function and frequency of exacerbations, both recognised as relevant by regulatory agencies.