Efficacy and Safety of Bronchoscopic Local Amikacin Instillation for Acute Exacerbations of Bronchiectasis in Adults: A Multicenter, Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial

September 4, 2026 updated by: First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University
Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory system disease characterized by irreversible structural dilation of the bronchi, persistent cough, and alternating periods of stability and acute exacerbation during the clinical course. Although airway clearance techniques (ACTs) are widely recommended, some hospitalized patients are unable to fully participate in conventional physical therapy due to respiratory difficulties or impaired sputum clearance. Bronchoscopic airway clearance therapy (B-ACT), combined with bronchoalveolar lavage under direct bronchoscopic visualization, can remove airway secretions. Previous studies have shown that bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance therapy (B-ACT) may prolong the time from discharge to the first exacerbation. In China, there have been studies exploring the use of bronchoscopy-guided alveolar lavage combined with local application of amikacin to treat patients with bronchiectasis. This study aims to explore whether the local application of amikacin after bronchoscopy-guided saline alveolar lavage provides greater benefits for patients with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis compared to conventional treatment (non-bronchoscopy lavage) and bronchoscopy-guided saline alveolar lavage. The goal is to apply this treatment method in clinical practice to reduce the frequency of acute exacerbations in patients with bronchiectasis, improve prognosis, and enhance quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

All enrolled patients are in the acute exacerbation phase of bronchiectasis. A total of 186 patients with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis (1:1:1 allocation) who are willing to participate in this study and sign an informed consent form will be enrolled. The patients will be divided into three groups: Control Group A (based on routine clinical treatment, including anti-infection and expectorant therapy), Control Group B (in addition to routine use of antibacterial and expectorant medications, using bronchoscopy to wash the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline), and Research Group C (in addition to routine use of antibacterial and expectorant medications, using bronchoscopy to wash the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline, followed by local injection of a mixture formed by adding 2 vials of Amikacin (specification: 0.2g/2ml) to 20ml of saline into the target bronchiectasis area).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

186

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • China
    • Zhejiang
      • Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, 315010
        • Recruiting
        • The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged between 18 and 80 years, inclusive.
  2. According to the adult bronchiectasis guidelines, diagnosed with bronchiectasis, and indicating lesions accumulating in 2 or more lung lobes.
  3. Presenting with an acute exacerbation, defined by worsening of key symptoms (e.g., cough, sputum volume, dyspnea, chest tightness, or wheezing), and willing to undergo bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).
  4. Patients who are alert, cooperative, and able to tolerate the bronchoscopic procedure.
  5. Provided written informed consent to participate in this clinical trial.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Presence of severe comorbidities or any contraindications to flexible bronchoscopy.
  2. Intraoperative oxygen desaturation (SpO₂) or inability to tolerate bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) following bronchoscopic insertion.
  3. Declined participation or was deemed ineligible by the investigator for other reasons.
  4. Coagulopathy (platelet count < 50 × 10⁹/L) or active airway bleeding observed during bronchoscopy, posing a potential risk of exacerbation from BAL.
  5. Incomplete procedural documentation or missing follow-up data.
  6. Known allergy or hypersensitivity to amikacin.
  7. Concurrent renal failure.
  8. Diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Group A
Other: Group B
While routinely using antibiotics and expectorants for treatment, perform bronchoscopy and lavage the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline.
Procedure: Bronchoalveolar Lavage
While routinely using antibiotics and expectorants for treatment, perform bronchoscopy and lavage the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline.
Experimental: Group C
While routinely using antibiotics and expectorants for treatment, perform bronchoscopic lavage of the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline; after lavage, locally inject a mixture of 2 vials of Amikacin (specification: 0.2g/2ml) mixed with 20ml of saline into the target bronchiectasis area.
Procedure: Bronchoalveolar Lavage and Local Amikacin Injection
While routinely using antibiotics and expectorants for treatment, perform bronchoscopic lavage of the affected lung lobe with 180ml of saline; after lavage, locally inject a mixture of 2 vials of Amikacin (specification: 0.2g/2ml) mixed with 20ml of saline into the target bronchiectasis area.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time of first acute exacerbation
Time Frame: six months
Length of post-treatment time points to first acute exacerbation (days) in all three groups of patients.
six months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
adverse effects
Time Frame: one month
Occurrence of post-treatment adverse effects (chest tightness, shortness of breath, worsening of respiratory failure, worsening of haemoptysis, complication of new pneumonia foci or signs of significant new infections considered to be related to lavage treatment) in the three groups of patients.
one month
Re-treatment with bronchoalveolar lavage
Time Frame: six months
Hospitalisation for acute exacerbations requiring re-bronchoscopic lavage within 6 months in all three groups (re-bronchoscopic lavage may be considered for exacerbations after treatment: significant increase in sputum output, increase in the size of the lesion on CT).
six months
The change of mMRC scores
Time Frame: one month]
The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). Categorised on a scale of 0 to 4, the higher the scale the more severe the symptoms are.
one month]
The change of CAT scores
Time Frame: one month
COPD assessment test (CAT) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). A score of 0-10 is considered mild, 11-20 is considered moderate, 21-30 is considered severe, and 31-40 is considered very severe.
one month
The change of LCQ scores
Time Frame: one month
Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). Scores range from 3 to 21, with lower scores suggesting that cough has a greater impact on quality of life.
one month
The change of SGQR scores
Time Frame: one month
St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) of all patients followed up at different time points (day 0, day 3, day 7, one month after treatment). The total score ranges from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate poorer quality of life for the patient.
one month

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University

Collaborators

Anhui Chest Hospital
Ninghai First Hospital
Ningbo Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

May 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 15, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 15, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 4, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025-R066-03

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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