Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Broncus Tech's Emphysema Treatment Showing Promise
Filed under: Thoracic Surgery
Broncus Technologies, Inc, a Mountain View, California company, has announced positive results in a study of their proprietary airway bypass procedure for people with emphysema.
Airway bypass is a catheter-based bronchoscopic procedure designed to reduce lung hyperinflation and improve breathlessness (the clinical hallmarks of emphysema/COPD) by making new pathways for trapped air to exit the lungs. During the minimally invasive procedure, new openings are created in the airway wall connecting the damaged lung tissue to the natural airway. These pathways are supported and kept open by Exhale Drug-Eluting Stents. The hope is to improve quality of life by relieving severe symptoms including shortness of breath and hyperinflation of the chest...
The prospectively defined primary endpoint of this feasibility study was a reduction in residual volume (RV, the amount of air remaining in the lungs after full exhalation) at 6 months. The goal was for a 300mL reduction in RV. Overall the trial surpassed that goal with a 400mL improvement in RV over baseline at 6 months (p=0.04). Patients also showed a statistically significant improvement in the modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (mMRC), a breathlessness test, of -0.5 points (p= 0.025). Retrospective analysis revealed that patients with the most severe hyperinflation of their lungs (as determined by a residual volume to total lung capacity ratio above the median) derived the greatest benefit from airway bypass. At 6 months after the procedure, these patients showed a mean improvement in RV of 870mL (p=0.022).
Press release: Encouraging Results Reported on Airway Bypass Procedure
Flashback: Poking Holes = New Emphysema Treatment
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