National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Clinical Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00000606
• Other study ID #: 218
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 3
• First received: October 27, 1999
• Last updated: April 13, 2016
• Start date: December 1996
• Est. completion date: December 2005

Study information

• Verified date: April 2009
• Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Federal Government
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

To evaluate the long term efficacy, morbidity and mortality associated with medical therapy with lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) as compared to medical therapy alone and to define patient selection criteria. The trial, conducted in conjunction with a patient registry, is supported by the NHLBI, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Description:

BACKGROUND:

LVRS is intended primarily for those patients whose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predominantly emphysema. Emphysema is characterized anatomically "by abnormal, persistent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchioles, accompanied by the destruction of the airspace walls and without obvious fibrosis". The loss of the lung architecture leads to compressible peripheral airways that close at higher than normal lung volumes (early airway closure). The increased compliance and the air trapping from early closure leads to hyperinflation of the lung, over distention of the chest wall, a flattened, disadvantaged diaphragm, and ventilation-perfusion mismatch. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Otto Brantigan theorized that surgical excision of multiple wedges of lung would reduce lung volumes, thereby restoring the outward elastic pull on the small airways and reduce airway obstruction. Dr. Brantigan reported that the surgical excision of lung tissue resulted in significant clinical improvement in some cases, but mortality was high. With little objective data and high mortality, the procedure did not gain widespread acceptance.

The experience that diaphragmatic and chest wall function could be restored in emphysema with lung transplantation renewed interest in Dr. Brantigan's work. Improvements in surgical technique have opened the possibility of performing surgical excisions of lung tissue. Recent reports on LVRS have shown improvements in FEV1, FVC, TLC, RV and dyspnea and quality of life assessments.

These reports generated enormous excitement among patients and their doctors. Many centers around the country started performing LVRS with the result that hundreds of patients had the procedure, despite the preliminary nature of the results, the lack of rigorous patient selection criteria and the lack of information on long term outcome. Basic questions remain such as which patient should have the surgery, what protocol should be followed, what physiological tests should be obtained, and what is the long term efficacy of the technique on morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. The mechanisms of benefit and the full cardiopulmonary consequences are unknown.

The concept for the trial originated in the NHLBI Workshop on Evaluation and Research in Lung Volume Reduction Surgery. The initiative was reviewed and approved at the May 1996 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council meeting. The Requests for Proposals were released in June, 1996.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

In the trial, 1218 eligible patients were randomized to receive either medical therapy (610) or medical therapy with LVRS(608). LVRS was performed by median sternotomy or video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS). Centers randomized their patients to either a) medical therapy alone versus medical therapy with LVRS by median sternotomy, b) medical therapy alone versus medical therapy with LVRS by VATS, or c) medical therapy alone versus medical therapy with LVRS by median sternotomy versus medical therapy with LVRS by bilateral VATS. Medical therapy included pulmonary rehabilitation and education. Direct comparisons of the two surgical techniques were possible only at the centers that performed both techniques. All arms included intensive pulmonary rehabilitation. The primary endpoints were survival and functional improvement as assessed by maximum workload. Secondary endpoints included morbidity, improvement in pulmonary function, quality of life and performance of activities of daily living. Follow-up exams, including history, physical exams, pulmonary function tests, exercise tests and quality of life assessments, occurred after pre-operative rehabilitation and six and twelve months after surgery and every twelve months thereafter. Recruitment ended July 31, 2002 and follow-up ended in December, 2002.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 0
• Est. completion date: December 2005
• Est. primary completion date: December 2005
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A to 100 Years
• Eligibility: Men and women with end-stage emphysema.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Emphysema
• Lung Diseases
• Lung Diseases, Obstructive
• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
• Pulmonary Emphysema

Intervention

Procedure:
• Lung volume reduction surgery

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

References & Publications (14)

Drazen JM, Epstein AM. Guidance concerning surgery for emphysema. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2134-6. Epub 2003 May 20. — View Citation

Drazen JM. Surgery for emphysema--not for everyone. N Engl J Med. 2001 Oct 11;345(15):1126-7. — View Citation

Fishman A, Martinez F, Naunheim K, Piantadosi S, Wise R, Ries A, Weinmann G, Wood DE; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. A randomized trial comparing lung-volume-reduction surgery with medical therapy for severe emphysema. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2059-73. Epub 2003 May 20. — View Citation

Kaplan RM, Ries AL, Reilly J, Mohsenifar Z; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Measurement of health-related quality of life in the national emphysema treatment trial. Chest. 2004 Sep;126(3):781-9. — View Citation

McKenna RJ Jr, Benditt JO, DeCamp M, Deschamps C, Kaiser L, Lee SM, Mohsenifar Z, Piantadosi S, Ramsey S, Reilly J, Utz J; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Safety and efficacy of median sternotomy versus video-assisted thoracic surgery for lung volume reduction surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004 May;127(5):1350-60. — View Citation

National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Patients at high risk of death after lung-volume-reduction surgery. N Engl J Med. 2001 Oct 11;345(15):1075-83. — View Citation

Ramsey SD, Berry K, Etzioni R, Kaplan RM, Sullivan SD, Wood DE; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Cost effectiveness of lung-volume-reduction surgery for patients with severe emphysema. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2092-102. Epub 2003 May 20. — View Citation

Ramsey SD, Sullivan SD, Kaplan RM, Wood DE, Chiang YP, Wagner JL. Economic analysis of lung volume reduction surgery as part of the National Emphysema Treatment Trial. NETT Research Group. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001 Mar;71(3):995-1002. — View Citation

Rationale and design of the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT): A prospective randomized trial of lung volume reduction surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1999 Sep;118(3):518-28. — View Citation

Rationale and design of the national emphysema treatment trial. A prospective randomized trial of lung volume reduction surgery. The national emphysema treatment trial research group. J Cardiopulm Rehabil. 2000 Jan;20(1):24-36. — View Citation

Rationale and design of The National Emphysema Treatment Trial: a prospective randomized trial of lung volume reduction surgery. The National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Chest. 1999 Dec;116(6):1750-61. — View Citation

Scharf SM, Iqbal M, Keller C, Criner G, Lee S, Fessler HE; National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) Group. Hemodynamic characterization of patients with severe emphysema. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002 Aug 1;166(3):314-22. — View Citation

Sciurba F, Criner GJ, Lee SM, Mohsenifar Z, Shade D, Slivka W, Wise RA; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. Six-minute walk distance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: reproducibility and effect of walking course layout and length. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Jun 1;167(11):1522-7. Epub 2003 Feb 20. — View Citation

Ware JH. The National Emphysema Treatment Trial--how strong is the evidence? N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2055-6. Epub 2003 May 20. — View Citation

* Note: There are 14 references in all — Click here to view all references

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