COPD clinical trials are conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of a new drug, medical device or treatment. Choosing to participate in a clinical trial is an extremely important, personal decision. Before deciding whether or not a clinical trial is right for you, it is important that you understand their differences:
1. Treatment Trials
When an experimental treatment, drug combination or new approach to surgery for COPD is developed, a treatment trial is first necessary to ensure that these are both safe and effective for public use. For example, if researchers wanted to test the effectiveness of long-term 24-hour oxygen therapy on patients who have COPD, they would conduct a treatment trial.
2. Prevention Trials
In order to find better ways to prevent COPD from occurring in people who have never had it, or to prevent exacerbation in people who are already diagnosed, new medicines, vaccines or lifestyle changes must be implemented. Prevention trials help researchers develop new ways to make COPD prevention possible. For example, if researchers wanted to test how a newly developed airway clearance device helps prevent COPD exacerbation, they would conduct a prevention trial.
3. Diagnostic Trials
Before an experimental test or procedure is approved to help doctors diagnose COPD, a diagnostic trial must be performed. For example, if researchers wanted to compare the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to that of computed tomography (CT), they would conduct a diagnostic trial.
4. Screening Trials
Screening trials help researchers determine the best way to detect COPD. Screening tests may help your doctor diagnose COPD sooner, when it may be easier to treat. For example, if researchers wanted to study the effectiveness of spirometry (a pulmonary function test) in detecting early stage COPD, they would conduct a screening trial.
5. Quality-of-Life Trials
Also known as supportive care trials, quality-of-life trials look for ways to improve comfort and quality of life for people who suffer from chronic illnesses, such as COPD. For example, if researchers wanted to determine how COPD affects qualify of life in older adults, they would conduct a quality-of-life trial.
To learn more about COPD clinical trials visit:
Understanding COPD Clinical Trials
Source:
ClinicalTrials.gov. Understanding Clinical Trials. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/understand
