Exploring Biomarkers in the Heat and Moisture Exchange Filters
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Respiratory Inflammation. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Denmark
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Overview
When patients undergo major surgery, they are connected to a ventilator during anesthesia. A heat and moisture exchange filter (HME filter) is routinely placed in the ventilator tubing to ensure that the inhaled air is warm and humidified. Today, HME filters are used routinely in all ventilator treatments. They are typically replaced once a day and discarded as regular waste after use. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether HME filters contain proteins and small biological particles from the patient's exhaled air.
Primary outcome measures
- Total endogenous protein amount captured in HME filters measured by standard biochemical assays. [Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 3 months.]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- Protein molecular weight and isoelectric point distribution in proteins captured by HME filters. [Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 3 months.]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- ≥18 years, able to understand study information in Danish.
- Admitted for elective surgery for non-malignant conditions with either intravenous or inhalation anaesthesia and invasive mechanical ventilation according to standard practice.
- Expected invasive mechanical ventilation > 1 hour.
- Possess legal capacity.
- Informed, signed consent is obtained.
Exclusion criteria
- Patients who are transferred to the ICU for continuous invasive mechanical ventilation after end of elective surgery.
- Known chronic lung disease.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Denmark · 1 center
- Aalborg University Hospital — Gistrup
Publications
- Gade IL, Bodilsen J, Mariager T, Hertz S, Duerlund LS, Holm CK, Madsen PH, Bennike TB, Honore B. Exhaled breath protein composition in patients hospitalised during the first wave of COVID-19. J Breath Res. 2025 May 16;19(3). doi: 10.1088/1752-7163/add617. PMID 40341493
- Gade IL, Riddersholm SJ, Stilling-Vinther T, Brondum RF, Bennike TB, Honore B. A clinical proteomics study of exhaled breath condensate and biomarkers for pulmonary embolism. J Breath Res. 2023 Nov 17;18(1). doi: 10.1088/1752-7163/ad0aaa. PMID 37939397
- McNeil JB, Shaver CM, Kerchberger VE, Russell DW, Grove BS, Warren MA, Wickersham NE, Ware LB, McDonald WH, Bastarache JA. Novel Method for Noninvasive Sampling of the Distal Airspace in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 Apr 15;197(8):1027-1035. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201707-1474OC. PMID 29253353
- Bastarache JA, McNeil JB, Plosa EJ, Sucre JS, Kerchberger VE, Habegger LE, Weddle E, Sullivan B, Meegan JE, Wickersham NE, Shaver CM, Ware LB. Standardization of methods for sampling the distal airspace in mechanically ventilated patients using heat moisture exchange filter fluid. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 May 1;320(5):L785-L790. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00595.2020. Epub 2021 Mar 3. PMID 33655765
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07607977 · F2025-193 · N-20250044