Safety Study of Home Oxygen Therapy for Children With Acute Bronchiolitis

A Randomised Controlled Trial: Home Oxygen Therapy Versus Hospital Oxygen Therapy for Children With Acute Bronchiolitis

Home oxygen therapy is considered an appropriate and relatively safe option for children with chronic respiratory problems such as chronic lung disease of prematurity, but the use of home oxygen therapy for children with acute respiratory problems is limited. With the recent establishment of a "Hospital in The Home" (HiTH) program at our institution, we sought to determine the safety, parental satisfaction and economic advantage of home oxygen therapy for children with acute bronchiolitis compared with traditional inpatient hospitalization.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bronchiolitis
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Home oxygen therapy

Detailed Description

Acute bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospital admission in children aged less than 1 year in developed countries. Over the last 25 years, hospitalization rates and admission duration have increased dramatically, resulting in substantial health care costs for both institutions and individual families.

There are currently no pharmacological therapies for acute bronchiolitis that have been shown to consistently alter the natural history of this disease. Current evidence suggests that management is essentially supportive, consisting of oxygen supplementation if the child is hypoxic and nasogastric feeds or intravenous fluids if the child is dehydrated. Oxygen supplementation is the principal determinant of the length of hospital admission for children with acute bronchiolitis and the need for supplemental oxygen is generally considered to be an absolute indication for hospitalization. However, Bajaj et al demonstrated that a carefully selected population of children with acute bronchiolitis can be managed safely with home oxygen therapy.

The escalating demand and cost of health care has driven health reforms in many countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom. These reforms have included the development of services that allow patients with a range of illnesses to be managed safely in their own home rather than hospital. Such services have been well established for children with a number of chronic conditions and although managing children with acute illnesses at home is not a new strategy, this model of care is increasingly considered an alternative to traditional in-patient hospitalisation. In addition to the financial benefits of transferring care to the patients' homes for health care providers and families, children and parents report a strong preference for such models of care.

Home oxygen therapy is considered an appropriate and relatively safe option for children with chronic respiratory problems such as chronic lung disease of prematurity, but the use of home oxygen therapy for children with acute respiratory problems is limited. With the recent establishment of a "Hospital in The Home" (HiTH) program at our institution, we sought to determine the safety, parental satisfaction and economic advantage of home oxygen therapy for children with acute bronchiolitis compared with traditional inpatient hospitalization.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 44
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • Western Australia
    • Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 6001
      • Princess Margaret Hospital for Children

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 months to 2 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 3 - 24 months of age (corrected gestation)
2. Clinical diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis
3. Adequate feeding (>50% normal) & hydration
4. O2 saturation >92% on <1litre/minute nasal cannula oxygen.
5. Observed and clinically stable for at least 24 hours in hospital
6. Pass modified "safety in air test "
7. Caregivers must be counseled about risk of smoking around a child receiving oxygen supplementation
8. Caregivers must be adequately educated about home oxygen
9. HiTH nurses able to visit at home at least twice daily, in addition to daily phone call
10. Paediatrician agrees that child is eligible for recruitment in study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pre-existing cardiac, pulmonary (including chronic lung disease of infancy, cystic fibrosis and congenital or acquired airway anomalies), and neuromuscular disorders
2. History of apnea
3. Prematurity <34 weeks gestation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1; Children discharged home with oxygen	Procedure: Home oxygen therapy; Administer oxygen at home or in hospital; Other Names: Home oxygen; Hospital oxygen
No Intervention: 2; Children remain in hospital for oxygen therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Readmission to hospital	Within 7 days of discharge

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Number of days in hospital	days
parent satisfaction	discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Andrew C Martin, FRACP, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2007
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 8, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 12, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): May 13, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 13, 2008
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 12, 2008
• Last Verified: May 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: children; oxygen; bronchiolitis
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Bronchial Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Bronchitis; Bronchiolitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: EP 1405