Residential Cleaning of Indoor Air to Protect COPD Patients

Residential Cleaning of Indoor Air to Reduce Acute Exacerbations of COPD (CARE): A Pilot Randomized Crossover Trial

This study looks at whether air cleaning devices put in the bedroom and living room of your home could reduce the irritation of your lungs and body that is caused by indoor air pollution. While participating in this study there will be two, 2 month long study segments (Study Period 1 and Study Period 2) where the air filter units, placed in your living room and bedroom windows, will be turned on at your home.

Inclusion Criteria:

• severe COPD (FEV1 < 50%)
• live in Monroe County
• referred for pulmonary rehabilitation
• suffered from an AECOPD in the past year
• have standard sized windows in their bedroom and living room amenable to installation of the HEPAirX® device
• expect to sleep each night of the 4 months (2 months of Period 1, and 2 months of period 2) in either their bedroom or living room for at least 6 hours/night, and not use other air filtering devices during the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• under age 18
• smoking at the time of their prior COPD exacerbation
• current smokers
• those who live with an active smoker
• those with an occupation that has a high pollutant exposure (e.g. professional drivers)
• those who already have a home air filtration device (other than basic furnace filter)