Clinical Research Directory

Validation of Alveolar Probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Descriptors in Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Diseases

Diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLD) include a variety of respiratory conditions that affect either the pulmonary interstitium or the alveolar space . The etiological diagnosis of DPLD is often challenging, because of the large number of pathological entities involved, which share close clinical and radiological presentations. High resolution Chest CT, a key diagnostic procedure in DPLD, is subject to significant inter-observer analysis variations, so that the diagnosis sometimes requires a surgical or transbronchial lung biopsy sampling. This invasive procedure is not devoid of morbidity and may be impossible to perform in fragile patients. Therefore, the definite diagnosis of DPLD is usually achieved following a multi-disciplinary expert consensus, based on careful medical history, chest CT and bronchoalveolar lavage examinations. Alveolar probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is a mini invasive endoscopic technique that allows distal lung microscopic imaging in vivo, during a flexible bronchoscopy performed under topical anaesthesia. Since 2006, Alveolar pCLE has been used in a monocentric clinical trial at the Rouen University Hospital in more than 200 patients and healthy volunteers. This allowed the first pCLE in-vivo description of normal pulmonary acinus, and confirmed the safety of the technique.

Prospective Data Collection of Patients With Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Diseases

The purpose of this study is to generate a prospective database of all patients evaluated for diffuse parenchymal lung diseases to provide much needed data on the various disease aetiologies, incidence and prevalence rates, clinical and radiological presentations, pathologic correlations, disease progression and response to treatment, and final outcomes in this group of patients in Singapore.

Clinical Course of Interstitial Lung Diseases: European IPF Registry and Biobank

Born out of the European Union 7th Framework Programme funded project European IPF Network (eurIPFnet), the European IPF Registry (eurIPFreg) has become Europe's leading database of longitudinal data from IPF patients, including control groups of patients with other lung diseases. The registry was initiated with the intention of creating a permanent and continuously growing record of well defined data on IPF in Europe, in order to increase the chances of finding better treatment options for this devastating disease. Clinical colleagues who would like to actively participate (both in terms of patient recruitment and data analysis) are invited to contact us (http://www.pulmonary-fibrosis.net/).