ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07842510OXYCOPD-ICUUpdated Sep 25, 2026

Controlled Versus Standard Oxygen Therapy in ICU Patients With Acute Exacerbation of COPD

An interventional study of Controlled oxygen therapy and Standard oxygen therapy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Acute Exacerbation of COPD and Intensive Care Unit (ICU), sponsored by Hôpital Universitaire Taher Sfar. Recruiting at 2 sites in Tunisia. Open to participants aged 40 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.

Sponsored by Hôpital Universitaire Taher Sfar · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 8 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2026, registered Sep 2026).
  • Started Jan 2026; still recruiting 10 months later.
Updated Sep 25, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
240
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
40 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Acute exacerbations frequently require intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Oxygen therapy is an essential component of treatment; however, excessive oxygen administration may aggravate hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis. Current international guidelines recommend titrated oxygen therapy targeting an oxygen saturation of 88-92% in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD, but evidence supporting this strategy in critically ill ICU patients remains limited. This randomized controlled trial aims to compare a controlled oxygen therapy strategy (target oxygen saturation 88-92%) with standard oxygen therapy (oxygen saturation >94%) in ICU patients admitted with acute exacerbation of COPD. The primary objective is to determine whether controlled oxygen therapy reduces the duration of mechanical ventilation (invasive and non-invasive). Secondary objectives include assessing the 28-day mortality, ICU length of stay, the need for invasive mechanical ventilation, and adverse events related to hyperoxia.

02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • Acute Exacerbation of COPD
  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
  • Controlled Oxygen Therapy
  • Mechanical Ventilation Complication

Keywords

  • COPD; Acute exacerbation; Controlled oxygen therapy; Mechanical ventilation; Intensive care unit.
03

In context

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

5,520 studies on the registry are indexed under Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; 856 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 240 is above the median of 62 across 3,839 interventional studies indexed under Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive.

Browse Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive studies →

Lead sponsor

Hôpital Universitaire Taher Sfar is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ≥ 40 years
  • Established diagnosis of (COPD) according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria
  • Admission to the intensive care unit for an acute exacerbation of COPD, with or without respiratory acidosis
  • Written provided by the participant or their legally authorized representative

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Endotracheal intubation performed before enrollment
  • Severe decompensated heart failure with a \< 30%
  • Active terminal
  • Refusal to participate in the study
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)

The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
240 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Controlled oxygen therapy group

    Controlled oxygen therapy group: Oxygen will be administered using an adjustable delivery device (nasal cannula, Venturi mask, or heated high-flow humidified oxygen) to maintain an Sp-92% oxygen saturation (SpO-92%).

    Other: Controlled oxygen therapy

  • Active comparator
    Standard oxygen therapy group:

    Standard oxygen therapy group: Oxygen will be administered according to the unit's usual practice, targeting an SpO₂ \>94%.

    Other: Standard oxygen therapy

Interventions

  • OtherControlled oxygen therapy

    Oxygen therapy will be administered using an adjustable oxygen delivery device, including nasal cannula, Venturi mask, or high-flow nasal oxygen, and titrated to maintain peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) between 88% and 92%.

  • OtherStandard oxygen therapy

    Oxygen therapy will be administered according to the usual practice of the intensive care unit and adjusted to maintain peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) above 94%.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Total duration of mechanical ventilation

    Total cumulative duration of mechanical ventilation, defined as the sum of the duration of non-invasive ventilation and invasive mechanical ventilation.

    Time frame: From randomization until definitive discontinuation of mechanical ventilation Up to 28 days after randomization

Secondary outcomes

  1. Mortality at Day 28

    Time frame: Day 28 after randomization

  2. Length of stay in the intensive care unit

    Time frame: From randomization until ICU discharge or death, up to 28 days

  3. Requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation

    Time frame: From randomization until ICU discharge or death

07

Study locations

1 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Taher Sfar Mahdia Hospital
    Mahdia, Mahdia Governorate 5100, Tunisia
    Recruiting
    • Mohamed Fekih Hassen, Professor · Contactmohamed.fekihhassen1@gmail.com · +21622987642
    • Hajer Nouira, Associate professor · Contactnouirahajer@gmail.com · +21622858699
    • Mohamed Fekih Hassen, Professor of Medical Intensive · Principal investigator
    • Hajer Nouira, Associate Professor · Principal investigator
  • Dhouha Ben Braiek
    Kairouan, Tunisia
    Not yet recruiting
    • Dhouha Ben Braiek, Assistant Professor of Medical · Contactbbraiek.dhouha@gmail.com · +21650523823
    • Dhouha Ben Braiek, Assistant Professor · Sub investigator
    • Sourour Bel Haj Youssef, Assistant professor · Sub investigator
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Sep 25, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Sep 25, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07842510
Lead sponsor
Hôpital Universitaire Taher Sfar
Responsible party
Hajer Nouira (Associate Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, Hôpital Universitaire Taher Sfar) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 25, 2026
Start date
Jan 1, 2026
Primary completion
Jan 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 25, 2026

Study contacts

Hajer Nouira
Contact
nouirahajer@gmail.com
+21622858699

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion