William Krmisky 1, Michal J. Sobieszczyk 2, Saiyad Sarkar 3
1Interventional Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, MedStar Franklin Square Hospital Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 2Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; 3Interventional Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, MedStar Franklin Square Hospital Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Contributions: (I) Conception and design: W Krimsky; (II) Administrative support: MJ Sobieszczyk, S Sarkar; (III) Provision of study materials or patients: MJ Sobieszczyk; (IV) Collection and assembly of data: MJ Sobieszczyk; (V) Data analysis and interpretation: MJ Sobieszczyk; (VI) Manuscript writing: All authors; (VII) Final approval of manuscript: All authors.
Abstract: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a novel technique used in the treatment of severe asthma. A catheter is advanced through the bronchoscope and directed radiofrequency waves are applied to the segmental bronchi to reduce airway smooth muscle mass. Several randomized clinical trials demonstrate improvement in quality of life and reduction in exacerbation rates after treatment. BT is a safe and cost effective treatment option for severe asthma which is refractory to medical treatment. Further studies are needed in order to better describe the mechanism of action and the asthma subphenotype that was best benefit from this treatment.
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