Tracheobronchitis in people with tracheostomies recovering from critical illness
Official title: Tracheobronchitis in the Critically Ill
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11171389 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows people with tracheostomies during recovery from critical illness to learn how and why tracheobronchitis happens and how it affects recovery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $509,101 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL162964-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171389 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people recovering from critical illness who already have a tracheostomy and are admitted to a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH).
✕Less likely to help
This work is unlikely to benefit people without tracheostomies, those not in the recovery phase after critical illness, or those needing immediate treatment for an acute infection unrelated to tracheostomy care.
What this research studies
You would be enrolled in a longitudinal registry while admitted to a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital after receiving a tracheostomy. The team will track episodes of tracheobronchitis, collect airway samples over time, and analyze the bacteria present and the innate immune response in the airway. They will record treatments (including antibiotics) and measure outcomes such as breathing recovery, mortality, and healthcare use. The aim is to distinguish true bacterial infections from other causes of increased secretions and identify predictors of clinically important infections.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and improve recovery plans and outcomes for people with tracheostomies.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have described tracheostomy-associated infections in acute ICU settings, but longitudinal recovery-phase studies combining airway microbiology and immune measures are relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zemke, Anna Christine — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Zemke, Anna Christine
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.