In response to COVID-19 we paused recruitment into this study from March 2020. From July 2021 we started to re-open recruitment sites so that recruitment into the study could restart. If you have any questions about the study, please get in touch on 01224 438194 or 01224 438178 (and leave a message if there is no answer) or email bics@abdn.ac.uk.
If you are a patient and require medical attention or advice, please contact your GP or NHS-111/NHS-24 (by dialling 111).
You can also find information about COVID-19 from the NHS websites in England ,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
There is also information about COVID-19 on the UK government website.
BICS is a research study into the treatment of COPD. In the BICS study we are trying to find out if flare-ups of COPD can be prevented by using a tablet called bisoprolol. Bisoprolol is a beta-blocker that has been widely used for a long time to treat heart problems, but it now seems that bisoprolol might also reduce flare ups of COPD regardless of heart problems.
To find out if bisoprolol reduces the number of flare ups we are comparing the effects of bisoprolol against the effects of a placebo ‘dummy treatment’, which looks like the genuine medicine but contains no active ingredient.
We are recruiting patients at hospitals and GP practices across the UK. You can see the locations of these in the section of this website "where can I take part". More locations will be added as the study progresses.
Patients with COPD who are aged 40 years or older, and who have had two COPD flare-ups in the past year are eligible to take part. If you would like to take part or have any questions about the study, you can contact us using the form below or by telephoning 01224 438194 or 01224 437258.