Evaluation of the Lung Clearance Index (LCI)

March 30, 2026 updated by: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Evaluation of Lung Clearance Index for Early Detection of Lung Disease in Young Children With Cystic Fibrosis

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a non invasive method of detecting the pulmonary disease in order to initiate treatment against cystic fibrosis as soon as possible.

Moreover this screening procedure permits to note the improvement following the treatment and to choose the optimal treatment in term of efficacy.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

It is mandatory to detect as early as possible lung CF disease in the young child with CF to initiate active therapies limiting irreversible lesions. Lung Clearance Index (LCI) which evaluates gas clearance from the alveolar volume is an easy to-do technique in pre-school children.

Main objective To evaluate correlation between LCI and thoracic low dose computed tomodensitometry (CT) endpoints at initial visit Secondary objectives

  1. To evaluate correlation between LCI and respiratory function measurements at each visit
  2. To evaluate correlation between the evolution of LCI and respiratory function endpoints and the evolution of CT only for the children for whom a thoracic low dose CT is requested by their referent doctor after two years.
  3. To evaluate LCI predictive value for respiratory function 2 years later in preschool children.

This is a prospective multicenter cohort study. Study visits will be performed each year during the annual check up for normal follow up of the child.

Initial visit (Visit 1) takes place during an annual check-up during which a low dose CT was prescribed. It will include following tests: LCI, Lung function tests (LFTs) performed according to age (forced volumes and flows, plethysmographic specific airway resistances and interrupter resistances), and a low dose CT scan performed according a standardized protocol.

Visit 2 will be performed 12 ± 3 months later and will include following tests: LCI , LFTs.

Visit 3 will be performed 24 ± 3 months later and will include following tests: LCI , LFTs and, if judged necessary by the child's referent doctor, a low dose CT scan performed according to a standardized protocol.

Anthropometric data, infection history, treatment will be collected at each visit.

Recruiting period: 1 year Study period: 2 years per patient, 3 years as a whole LCI will help to evaluate early ventilation inhomogeneity due to small bronchi abnormalities in young children with CF. Concordance between LCI and CT endpoints evaluation will help to define the frequency of lung CT administration in young CF children. Predictive value for later abnormal lung function development will be evaluated. This will help to detect the children at risk to develop abnormal lung function and to target those requiring active treatment. Finally this endpoint will be very valuable in the future therapeutic trials for CFTR correctors or potentiators.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

53

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Paris, France, 75015
        • Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years to 6 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children with typical cystic fibrosis (sweat chloride level >60 mEq/l) followed in reference centre participating to the study
  • From 3 to 6 years old
  • Children with a planned annual assessment that required thoracic computed tomography and lung function test
  • Children with informed and non opposed parents

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with atypical cystic fibrosis
  • Children with bronchial exacerbation dating less than 2 weeks
  • Children with severe associated disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: LCI
Measure of lung clearance index
Lung clearance index determination

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
measure of nitrogen washout and Brody 2 score
Time Frame: Month 0
Month 0

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
measure of FEV (Correlation between the evolution of LCI and respiratory function endpoints and CT)
Time Frame: 2 years
Correlation between the evolution of LCI and respiratory function endpoints and CT
2 years
measure of FEV (Evaluation of LCI predictive value for respiratory function in preschool children)
Time Frame: 2 years
Evaluation of LCI predictive value for respiratory function in preschool children.
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Muriel Le Bourgeois, MD, Service de pneumologie pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris 75015 Paris, France

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 7, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 20, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

January 21, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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