Open AccessBronchial thermoplasty: a non‐pharmacological approach
Author(s) -
Singh Saurabh Kumar,
Tiwari Kamlesh Kumar
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the clinical respiratory journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.789
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1752-699X
pISSN - 1752-6981
DOI - 10.1111/crj.12315
Subject(s) - bronchial thermoplasty , medicine , asthma , airway , exacerbation , catheter ablation , bronchoscopy , anesthesia , intensive care medicine , cardiology , ablation , surgery , airway resistance
Abstract Introduction Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway characterized by the episodic symptoms of breathlessness, wheezes and cough. Even with the use of maximum anti‐asthmatic pharmacological treatment sometimes it remains uncontrolled. For such patients, bronchial thermoplasty is the new mode of treatment. Objective To review published article on bronchial thermoplasty. Methods We identified 102 E nglish articles on P ub M ed, and 56 were excluded by the abstract. The remaining articles were retrieved for full‐text detailed evaluation by authors, and 28 relevant articles were selected for final review. Results Bronchial thermoplasty is the radiofrequency ablation of the airway smooth muscle with the help of flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. It reduces the smooth muscle mass of the bronchial wall and decreases its contractility. Conclusion Bronchial thermoplasty causes improvement in the quality of life, and causes reduction in the emergency room visit and exacerbation due to asthma. Long‐term safety has been established by various prospective studies.