Supported Rescue Packs Post-discharge in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
NCT ID: NCT06347536
Last Updated: 2025-02-10
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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RECRUITING
PHASE3
1400 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2025-01-30
2027-12-31
Brief Summary
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Severe exacerbations, where patients are hospitalised, are of particular concern to patients, carers and healthcare givers. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that hospital clinicians looking after patients with COPD should provide rescue packs (a course of prednisolone and antibiotics) and a basic management plan to patients on discharge. It is recognised that there is a high-risk 90-day period to patients with COPD following discharge from hospital, where there is a 43% risk of readmission and a 12% risk of mortality; however repeated national audit data has shown that, despite NICE recommendations this high risk of readmission and mortality has not changed.
A multicentre randomised clinical trial of 1400 patients will be conducted in 30 acute NHS trusts. This will test the hypothesis that a self-supported rescue pack management plan consisting of rescue packs + written self-management plan + twice weekly telephone/text symptom alert assessments in the high-risk 90-day period is better than standard care in reducing 90-day readmission by 20%. If successful, this intervention would be rapidly implementable, improve patient clinical outcomes and have a cost saving of approximately £350 million per annum.
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Detailed Description
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung condition in the United Kingdom, with a prevalence of 4.5% in population ≥40 years and rising4. In addition to daily symptoms such as cough and breathlessness that limit physical activity, people living with COPD are prone to unpredictable deteriorations in their health called 'exacerbations'. Exacerbations are sometimes severe enough to lead to hospital admission and are often driven by infections. A systematic review of patient outcomes in COPD identified exacerbations, especially severe hospitalised exacerbations, as the aspect of COPD that patients found most difficult to live with. Prior to the pandemic there were around 115,000 admissions to hospital with COPD exacerbations per annum6 and admissions are now returning to that level. Exacerbations are more common in the winter with greater circulation of respiratory viruses, and thus the burden of hospitalised exacerbations contributes to winter National Health Service (NHS) bed pressures and cost to the NHS. The annual healthcare cost for people with moderate and severe exacerbation of COPD in England was estimated to be nearly £1 billion in 20227. A particular problem after a hospitalised COPD exacerbation is re-admission to hospital. The National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme (NACAP) has shown that the re-admission rate is 23% at 30 days and 43% at 90 days2. A systematic review conducted by the authors identified comorbidities, previous exacerbations and increased length of stay as risk factors for 30- and 90-day all-cause readmission5.
There are many interventions that can reduce the risk of COPD exacerbations but these are incompletely effective8. There is also evidence to suggest that earlier intervention with standard exacerbation treatment of antibiotics and/or corticosteroids (called a 'rescue pack') can hasten recovery, with a lessened chance of hospital admission9. As part of standard NHS care2, patients with COPD should have a 'discharge bundle' implemented, although this is often poorly delivered and has not been definitively shown to impact outcomes (likely because the wrong outcomes were chosen, and the bundle was poorly implemented)10. The provision of rescue packs is not a standard component of discharge bundles but these are sometimes provided according to local service preference3. Additionally, in usual clinical practice, some patients will have been prescribed rescue packs from primary care (GP) or a community respiratory team (CRT) prior to being hospitalised with COPD. Furthermore, patients may or may not have access to rescue packs from the GP or the CRT after hospital discharge.
Although rescue packs are part of NICE guidance2, the available evidence suggests they are not effective unless provided in the context of a more comprehensive management/education plan that supports patients in their appropriate use11. In practice this usually does not happen3, with evidence that a patient with COPD will receive variable or often no support; with some patients receiving rescue packs on demand without considering antimicrobial resistance, predictable side-effects from steroid overuse, or reviewing appropriateness. The investigators have pilot data that show receiving a rescue pack on hospital discharge is controversial as the hospital team is not, in general, the team that provides ongoing support to use these. There is thus recognised over- and under-use of rescue packs, associated harm from these medicines and variable provision. Providing a rescue pack, with education on how to use and support for when to use, has not been specifically tested in the high-risk 90-day period for readmission following a hospitalised exacerbation. It is the investigators' hypothesis that rescue packs on discharge in addition to a comprehensive self-supported management plan, consisting of the Asthma+Lung UK written management plan and twice weekly automated phone and or text messaging during this 90 day high risk period, will reduce readmissions by 20% compared to standard care.
Why is this research important in terms of improving the health of patients and health and care services?
Reducing re-admission through provision of supported rescue pack use would benefit people living with COPD and the NHS. A reduction in readmissions of 20% could save the NHS £86 million per quarter (£344 million per annum). Conversely, demonstrating that rescue packs are not effective when used in this way will address controversy about use, and reduce pressure on antimicrobial resistance and harm from over-use of oral corticosteroids. Integrated care systems are rapidly developing out-of-hospital support for people with exacerbations of COPD including digitally supported virtual wards. The proposed trial will define the role of supported rescue pack provision in the design and implementation of these programmes, enhancing their ability to reduce demands on urgent and acute care. Whether positive or negative, this trial will help to reduce the current variation in service provision by providing a definitive answer to the study question. Furthermore, preventing exacerbations of COPD have been identified as a priority by the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP)12.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
NONE
Study Groups
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Supported Rescue Pack Arm
All patients in the SRP arm will receive 1) a rescue pack (prednisolone and antibiotics for 5 days); 2) a written rescue pack management plan based on the Asthma-Lung UK plan; and 3) twice-weekly automated telephone symptom reminder calls for 90 days (with preferred language as needed). The reminder phone calls (to home telephone or mobile) will ask questions aligned to the written management plan, with patients asked to press the telephone keys 0-9 depending on the answer to the questions. Any patient that has required the use of their rescue pack within 90 days of discharge, will be re-issued with a rescue pack by the central study team and will be sent to the patient home.
Supported rescue pack
1\) a rescue pack (prednisolone and antibiotics for 5 days); 2) a written rescue pack management plan based on the Asthma-Lung UK plan; and 3) twice-weekly automated telephone symptom reminder calls for 90 days (with preferred language as needed). The reminder phone calls (to home telephone or mobile) will ask questions aligned to the written management plan
No Rescue Pack Arm
In this arm, patients will be randomised to receive no rescue packs on discharge. We will very carefully characterise the support provided to people in this arm, upon discharge from hospital, including any access to rescue packs in the community (which we will report, but not modify).
No interventions assigned to this group
Interventions
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Supported rescue pack
1\) a rescue pack (prednisolone and antibiotics for 5 days); 2) a written rescue pack management plan based on the Asthma-Lung UK plan; and 3) twice-weekly automated telephone symptom reminder calls for 90 days (with preferred language as needed). The reminder phone calls (to home telephone or mobile) will ask questions aligned to the written management plan
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Individuals admitted to hospital with COPD exacerbation who have recently been discharged (discharged from ongoing support from secondary care team which includes hospital and virtual wards). Admission is defined as an episode in which a patient with an exacerbation of COPD is admitted to a ward and has stayed in hospital for 4 hours or more, including Emergency Medicine Centres, Medical Admission Units, Clinical Decision Units, short stay wards or similar but excludes patients treated transiently before being discharged from Emergency Department.
* Ability to provide written informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
* Patients who have an expected survival of less than 90 days
* Patients with signs of new consolidation on chest X-ray (if available).
* Individuals who have been discharged to a residential or nursing home to residential or nursing home.
* Individuals who are unable to manage a supported self-management plan.
* Individuals with no access to telephone.
* Individuals who are already taking part in an interventional trial.
* Previous participation in the RAPID trial.
40 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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King's College London
OTHER
University College, London
OTHER
Imperial College London
OTHER
University of Cambridge
OTHER
University of Southampton
OTHER
University of Nottingham
OTHER
University of Leicester
OTHER
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
UNKNOWN
Newcastle University
OTHER
University of Bristol
OTHER
Asthma and Lung UK
UNKNOWN
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Mona Bafadhel, Professor
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
King's College London
Locations
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Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Barnsley, , United Kingdom
University Hospitals Birminham NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham, , United Kingdom
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
Blackpool, , United Kingdom
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Bradford, , United Kingdom
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Brighton, , United Kingdom
North Bristol University Trust
Bristol, , United Kingdom
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Durham, , United Kingdom
Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust
Gateshead, , United Kingdom
East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust
Ipswich, , United Kingdom
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
Lancaster, , United Kingdom
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Leicester, , United Kingdom
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Llandough, , United Kingdom
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
London, , United Kingdom
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
London, , United Kingdom
King's College Hospital
London, , United Kingdom
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
London, , United Kingdom
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
London, , United Kingdom
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Maidstone, , United Kingdom
South Tees NHS Foundation Trust
Middlesbrough, , United Kingdom
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Milton Keynes, , United Kingdom
Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Newcastle upon Tyne, , United Kingdom
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust
Nottingham, , United Kingdom
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford, , United Kingdom
Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Rotherham, , United Kingdom
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Shirley, , United Kingdom
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Slough, , United Kingdom
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust
South Shields, , United Kingdom
Southport and Formby District General Hospital
Southport, , United Kingdom
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Stockport, , United Kingdom
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
Stockton-on-Tees, , United Kingdom
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sutton in Ashfield, , United Kingdom
Somerset Foundation Trust
Taunton, , United Kingdom
Whiston Hospital
Whiston, , United Kingdom
Somerset Foundation Trust
Yeovil, , United Kingdom
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Provided Documents
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Document Type: Study Protocol
Other Identifiers
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NIHR156698
Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT
Identifier Source: secondary_id
IRAS331831
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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