Acute exacerbations of fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (AE-fILDs) are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Whilst significant effort has been made to characterise acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, exacerbations of other fibrotic-ILDs are less well studied. There are significant gaps in the literature in the field of AE-fILD. Much of the current practice in AE-fILD management is based on clinical judgement, and adequately powered randomised controlled trials to identify appropriate treatment approaches have not been performed.
The INDEX Study will be an observational cohort study of patients with fILD admitted to hospital with respiratory-related deterioration and will capture patient characteristics, outcomes, and usual care. These data will help to clarify research priorities in this important disease aspect, and identify areas where care could improve and allow us to make recommendations for clinical care. We will also use these data to inform and generate hypotheses for future clinical trials.
The study is a collaboration between four respiratory trainees based across the UK and is sponsored by Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The study will be opening later in the year to 20 sites across the United Kingdom. For further details please contact Giles Dixon (gilesdixon@nhs.net).
The INDEX Team are:
Amanda Goodwin (University of Nottingham)
Harvinder Virk (University of Leicester)
Iftikhar Nadeem (Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust/University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
Giles Dixon (University of Exeter)