A strong ecosystem of research excellence, clinical capability and dedicated trials expertise is enabling the region to lead large-scale clinical trials with potentially life-saving outcomes.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of one or both lungs, usually caused by infection. It’s very common, with 270,000 patients admitted as an emergency to hospital in England every year. Most people recover completely but some have complications. Around 1 in 13 patients (8%) who are admitted to hospital with pneumonia have a heart attack or stroke within three months.
Bristol is leading the largest recruiting randomised controlled trial for pneumonia ever performed. ‘Aspirin after hospitalisation with Pneumonia to prevent cardiovascular Events randomised Controlled Trial’ (ASPECT) is investigating whether aspirin can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke in patients who are admitted to hospital with pneumonia. If aspirin is shown to be effective it could prevent up to 3,000 heart attacks and strokes a year in England alone.
Awarded funding of over £2.3 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in 2023, the four-year trial will recruit 22,600 patients from over 60 hospitals across England.
The award exemplifies the coordination across the region’s healthcare ecosystem – through NHS acute trusts, regional Integrated Care Boards and the NIHR Research Delivery Network – to support research delivery infrastructure at scale.
The University of Bristol’s research excellence, coupled with North Bristol NHS Trusts clinical reputation in treating respiratory conditions gave confidence to the NIHR that the research team could deliver a trial of this magnitude. ASPECT is supported by the Bristol Trials Centre, a UK Clinical Research Collaboration registered Clinical Trial Unit with expertise in trials methodology, study design and study management.
Dr David Arnold, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Bristol and Respiratory Registrar at North Bristol NHS Trust, is the trial’s joint lead. He has previously completed a series of fellowships and training opportunities funded by the NIHR, demonstrating the effective research leadership development pipeline within Bristol Medical School’s Academic Respiratory Medicine Unit, one of only a handful in the UK.
Findings from the four-year study will support future treatment guidelines, if appropriate, for patients with pneumonia.