Randomised Open Label Trial of Hypertonic Saline and Carbocisteine in Bronchiectasis (CLEAR) (CLEAR)

A 2x2 Factorial Randomized Open Label Trial to Determine the Clinical and Cost-effectiveness of Hypertonic Saline (HTS) 6% and Carbocisteine for Airway Clearance Versus Usual Care Over 52 Weeks in Bronchiectasis

Patients with bronchiectasis (BE) suffer from a persistent cough, daily sputum expectoration, recurrent chest infections, and a poor health-related quality of life. Current guidelines for the management of BE highlight the lack of evidence to recommend mucoactive agents, such as hypertonic saline (HTS) and carbocisteine, to aid sputum-removal as part of standard care. The investigators hypothesise that mucoactive agents (HTS or cabocisteine, or a combination of both) are effective in reducing exacerbations over a 52-week period, compared to usual care.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bronchiectasis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Hypertonic saline; Drug: Carbocysteine 750 MG

Detailed Description

Mucus hypersecretion is a clinical feature of BE. This mucus-retention aids bacterial infection that can lead to pulmonary exacerbations, which further develops the "viscous cycle" of mucus-retention, infection, inflammation and tissue damage. Mucoactive drugs target this cycle by potentially increasing the ability to expectorate sputum and/or decrease mucus hypersecretion.

The current guidelines indicate that mucoactives in combination with airway clearance may be considered to enhance sputum expectoration in BE, but the evidence to support their use is limited. Furthermore, evidence for the effectiveness of hypertonic saline (HTS) and carbocisteine is insufficient to recommend them within the management of BE. However, EMBARC/BRONCH-UK data show that BE centres do prescribe mucoactives. This is important because adherence to therapies in BE in general is low, decreases as the number of prescribed medications increases, and is also related to poorer patient outcomes, including the number of pulmonary exacerbations and quality of life. Therefore, it is essential that only those drugs that are effective should be prescribed for patients with BE. There are cost considerations associated with mucoactives, and there is a risk of polypharmacy side effects.

Unlike BE, relatively strong evidence exists to favour the use of both HTS and carbocisteine within other respiratory conditions. Therefore, this trial will answer important clinical questions about whether similar benefits can be demonstrated in BE by using a pragmatic design to explore the specific effects of mucoactive agents, and directly support, or refute, more targeted use of these drugs.

Patients will be randomised to one of four treatment groups: (i) standard care and twice daily nebulised HTS (6%), (ii) standard care and carbocisteine, (iii) standard care and combination of twice-daily nebulised HTS and carbocisteine, or (iv) standard care alone.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 288
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Aylesbury, United Kingdom, HP21 8AL
    • Stoke Mandeville Hospital
  • Belfast, United Kingdom
    • Belfast City Hospital, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
  • Birmingham, United Kingdom
    • Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
  • Blackpool, United Kingdom, FY3 8NR
    • Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Bradford, United Kingdom, BD9 6RJ
    • Bradford Teaching Hospitals
  • Brompton, United Kingdom
    • Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
  • Derry, United Kingdom
    • Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust
  • Dundee, United Kingdom
    • Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, NHS Tayside
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom
    • Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, NHS Lothian
  • Hamstead, United Kingdom
    • Royal Free Hospital, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
  • Harlow, United Kingdom
    • Princess Alexandra Hospital, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
  • Lancaster, United Kingdom
    • Royal Lancaster Infirmary, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
  • Llandough, United Kingdom, CF64 2XX
    • Cardiff & Vale University Heath Board
  • Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, MK6 5LD
    • Milton Keynes University Hospital
  • Newcastle, United Kingdom
    • Freeman Hospital, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • North Shields, United Kingdom, NE29 8NH
    • Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust
  • Oxford, United Kingdom
    • Churchill Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Southampton, United Kingdom
    • Southampton General Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wales, United Kingdom
    • Royal Gwent Hospital, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
  • West Bromwich, United Kingdom, B71 4HJ
    • Sandwell & West Birmingham

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of BE on high resolution computed tomography(HRCT)/computed tomography (CT) scans
• BE must be the primary respiratory diagnosis
• One or more pulmonary exacerbations in the last year requiring antibiotics*
• Production of daily sputum
• Stable for 14 or more days before the first study visit with no changes to treatment
• Willing to continue any other existing chronic medication throughout the study
• Female subjects must be either surgically sterile, postmenopausal or agree to use effective contraception during the treatment period of the trial *This can include patient reported exacerbations

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age <18 years old
• Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF)
• Patients with COPD as a primary respiratory diagnosis
• Current smokers, female ex-smokers with greater than 20 pack years and male ex-smokers with greater than 25 pack years.
• Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) <30%
• If being treated with long term macrolides, on treatment for less than one month before joining study
• Patients on regular isotonic saline
• Treatment with HTS, carbocisteine or any mucolytics within the past 30 days
• Known contraindication or intolerance to hypertonic saline or carbocisteine
• Hypersensitivity to any of the active ingredients or the excipients of carbocisteine
• Active peptic ulceration
• Any heredity galactose intolerance, the Lapp-Lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption
• Patients unable to swallow oral capsules
• Women who are pregnant or lactating
• Participation in other trials of investigational products within 30 days

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Standard Care and HTS; Standard care and twice-daily nebulised HTS (MucoClear 6%, PARI Pharma). Participants will be instructed to administer a 1 x 4 mL ampoule twice daily for 52 weeks using the eFlow rapid nebuliser and eTrack controller (PARI Pharma).	Drug: Hypertonic saline; Nebulized hypertonic saline solution (6%); Other Names: MucoClear 6%; HTS
Experimental: Standard Care and Carbocisteine; Standard care and carbocisteine (750 mg three-times-per-day until visit 3, reducing to 750 mg two times per day) over 52 weeks.	Drug: Carbocysteine 750 MG; Carbocisteine tablet; Other Names: Mucodyne
Experimental: Standard Care and Combination of HTS and Carbocisteine; Standard care and combination of twice-daily nebulised HTS (MucoClear 6%, PARI Pharma) and carbocisteine. Participants will be instructed to administer a 1 x 4 mL ampoule twice daily for 52 weeks using the eFlow rapid nebuliser eFlow rapid nebuliser and eTrack controller (PARI Pharma). They will also be given carbocisteine (750 mg of three times per day until visit 3, reducing to 750 mg twice per day) over 52 weeks.	Drug: Hypertonic saline; Nebulized hypertonic saline solution (6%); Other Names: MucoClear 6%; HTS; Drug: Carbocysteine 750 MG; Carbocisteine tablet; Other Names: Mucodyne
No Intervention: Standard Care Only; Standard care over 52 weeks. Patients in the standard care group will use airway clearance techniques in the management of their BE.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean Number of Exacerbations	Patient-reported exacerbations assessed using pre-defined criteria, including intensity and duration of symptoms, via modified Respiratory and Systemic Symptoms questionnaire.	52 weeks post-randomization

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life	Respiratory symptoms domain of quality of life with BE (QoL B) questionnaire.	52 weeks post-randomization
Time to Next Exacerbation	Exacerbations assessed using pre-defined criteria, including intensity and duration of symptoms, via modified Respiratory and Systemic Symptoms questionnaire.	Over 52 weeks post-randomization
Number of Days of Antibiotics for Exacerbations	Days of antibiotic use directly related to pulmonary exacerbation; assessed using pre-defined criteria for exacerbations, including intensity and duration of symptoms via modified Respiratory and Systemic Symptoms questionnaire and through interview with participant.	Over 52 weeks post-randomization
Generic Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL)	EQ-ED-5L questionnaire; a validated questionnaire that provides a simple descriptive profile and a single index value for health status.	Assessed at baseline, and 2 weeks, 8 weeks, 26 weeks and 52 weeks post-randomization.
Health Service Use	Study-specific health-service use questionnaire to capture service use and details of prescribed medications (including antibiotics).	52 weeks post-randomization
Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY)	Calculated by assessment of generic HRQoL measured using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Responses will be converted to utility scores using the tariff recommended by NICE in their Guide to Technology Appraisal at the time of analysis. Currently this is the Crosswalk Value Set. The area under the curve method will be used to calculate Quality adjusted life years (QALYs).	52 weeks post-randomization
Measurement of Health Impairment	St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire; designed to measure health impairment in those with COPD and asthma, and validated for use in the BE population. Part 1 : Symptoms component (frequency & severity) with a 1, 3 or 12-month recall (best performance with 3- and 12-month recall); Part 2: Activities that cause or are limited by breathlessness; Impact components (social functioning, psychological disturbances resulting from airways disease) refer to current state as the recall. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more limitations. Scaling of items Part I (Symptoms): several scales; Part II (Activity and Impacts): dichotomous (true/false) except last question (4-point Likert scale)	Assessed at baseline, and 2 weeks, 8 weeks, 26 weeks and 52 weeks post-randomization.
Patient Preferences for Treatment	Measured via the TSQM version II questionnaire to assess four key dimensions of treatment satisfaction: effectiveness; side effects; convenience; and global satisfaction (score 0-100, higher scores indicate better satisfaction).	Assessed at 2, 8, 26, and 52 weeks post-randomization.
Number of Adverse Events	Reported by the PI or designee via interview with patients.	Over 52 weeks post-randomization
Changes in Lung Function	Spirometry testing to measure lung function parameters, to include FEV1, FVC, FEF25-75 and FEV1% predicted.	52 weeks post-randomization
IMP Adherence	Assessed using IMP Accountability Logs	52 weeks post-randomization
HTS Adherence	Assessed electronically via tracking of nebulizer use.	52 weeks post-randomization

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
• Collaborators: Queen's University, Belfast
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: J. Stuart Elborn, Queen's University, Belfast

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 27, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 18, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 17, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 24, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 25, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 29, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Hypertonic Saline; Exacerbation; Respiratory; Airway Clearance; Mucoactive; Carbocisteine
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Bronchial Diseases; Bronchiectasis; Anti-Infective Agents; Expectorants; Respiratory System Agents; Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Carbocysteine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 16178SE-AS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Requests for data sharing will be reviewed on an individual basis by the Chief Investigator (CI) and the Trial Management Group (TMG).

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No