Clinical Trials

Are you between 40 and 85 with worsening idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? This study aims to test a new combination treatment for acute exacerbations, a life-threatening complication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that has no approved treatment. The treatment is meant to help stop part of the immune system from further injuring the lung tissue. To participate in this study, you must be between 40 and 85 years old and have worsening IPF. This study is located in Birmingham, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The purpose of this study is to compare reintubation rates and outcomes of patients treated with high-flow nasal canula oxygen therapy (HFNC) and patients treated with provider choice of standard care.

Ventilated pediatric patients are frequently over-sedated and the majority suffer from delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction that is an independent predictor of increased risk of dying, length of stay, and costs. Universally prescribed sedative medications-the GABA-ergic benzodiazepines-worsen this brain organ dysfunction and independently prolong duration of ventilation and ICU stay, and the available alternative sedation regimen using dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, has been shown to be superior to benzodiazepines in adults, and may mechanistically impact outcomes through positive effects on innate immunity, bacterial clearance, apoptosis, cognition and delirium. The mini-MENDS trial will compare dexmedetomidine and midazolam, and determine the best sedative medication to reduce delirium and improve duration of ventilation, and functional, psychiatric, and cognitive recovery in our most vulnerable patients-survivors of pediatric critical illness.