Advanced Asthma Treatment
Patients with severe asthma may get the relief they need with bronchial thermoplasty, a procedure that involves the delivery of controlled, therapeutic radiofrequency energy to the body's airway wall, heating the tissue and reducing the amount of smooth muscle present in the airway wall. Palmdale Regional Medical Center is one of the only hospitals in the Antelope Valley to offer bronchial thermoplasty for treatment of severe asthma.
Bronchial Thermoplasty Treatment
The bronchial thermoplasty treatment includes three separate bronchoscopic procedures: one for each lower lobe of the lung and another for both upper lobes. Each outpatient procedure is performed approximately three weeks apart.
With the patient under sedation, thermal energy is delivered into the airways through a catheter inside a bronchoscope, a thin, flexible tube-like instrument introduced through the patient’s nose or mouth, and into their lungs. The catheter delivers a series of 10-second temperature controlled bursts of radio frequency energy which heat the lining of the lungs to 65 degrees Celsius.
It is this heat that destroys some of the muscle tissue which constricts during an asthma attack, reducing the number and severity of exacerbations.
Benefits of the Procedure
In a clinical study of bronchial thermoplasty, adults with severe asthma who were treated with bronchial thermoplasty had improved asthma-related quality of life up to a year after the procedure compared to the control patients.
Additionally, when compared to control patients, patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty also experienced the following significant benefits:
- 32 percent reduction in asthma attacks
- 84 percent reduction in emergency room visits for respiratory symptoms
- 66 percent reduction in days lost from work, school or other activities due to asthma
- 73 percent reduction in hospitalizations for respiratory symptoms
Reduction in asthma attacks, ER visits and hospitalizations for respiratory symptoms are maintained up to at least two years. These benefits were observed during clinical studies where patients continued to take their standard maintenance asthma medications which included combinations of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators.
Podcasts
Get the latest health information on asthma treatments from healthcare professionals:
- Severe Asthma Treatment with Bronchial Thermoplasty