The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are consulting again on the safety and efficacy of a new asthma treatment. The new treatment, bronchial thermoplasty, is likely to be offered to adults with severe asthma. The procedure involves applying thermal energy (heat) to the inside walls of the airways. New asthma treatment Bronchial thermoplasty will take place under sedation or general anaesthetic. Short pulses of radiofrequency energy are applied to the airway wall. Following that, patients will need to attend an additional two sessions, with 3-week intervals, to complete the procedure. The aim of this new treatment is to reduce the smooth muscle mass lining the airways, decreasing their ability to constrict. Hopes are that by having this procedure, the severity and frequency of severe asthma attacks may decrease. NICE is currently in the process of considering the evidence for this treatment. Additionally, it’s listening to the views of specialist advisers with knowledge of the procedure. Furthermore, to ensure safety, NICE is recommending that only a multidisciplinary team treat patients. In addition, they recommend that only specialist centres with on-site access to intensive care should carry out the procedure. Finally, they are proposing that only clinicians with experience of bronchial thermoplasty and managing severe asthma should perform the procedure. As it stands, NICE believe there is adequate evidence to support the use of this new asthma treatment. Severe asthma In their consultation document, NICE say that in severe asthma, the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and narrow. Furthermore, this narrows the airways, making it harder for air to pass through. This makes it harder to breathe. And it is this that bronchial thermoplasty aims to tackle. Complementary treatment for asthma Research shows there to be an alternative, complimentary asthma treatment for opening up the airways and assist in easier breathing. This treatment is Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT). Simply put, it is breathing muscle training, such as with the POWERbreathe IMT device. It too is clinically proven. Furthermore, it is drug-free. The research reaches the conclusion that six-months of specific inspiratory muscle training improves inspiratory muscle strength and endurance. It also results in improvement in asthma symptoms, hospitalisations for asthma, visits to the emergency department, absence from school or work, and medication consumption in patients with asthma. Alternative treatment for asthma – IMT Inspiratory Muscle Training, such as with POWERbreathe IMT, is easy to use, straight out of the box. Because it is drug-free, there are only minimal precautions and contraindications that the Healthcare Professional needs to be aware of before prescribing IMT. POWERbreathe IMT is an evidence-based, non-invasive asthma treatment. In fact, it is the amount of medical research behind the rigorous assessment that led to the POWERbreathe Medic being made available for prescription on the NHS. It offers people with asthma a clinically-proven method of reducing symptoms and putting them in control of their asthma. Research shows that after only 3-weeks of IMT, asthma symptoms improve by up to 75%. Furthermore, patients with asthma experience improvement of symptoms, quality of life and a reduction in the consumption of medication of up to 79%. In fact, three separate studies show an average 51% reduction in β2-agonist consumption (from 3.9 to 1.6 puffs per day) after IMT. One study also shows a decrease in corticosteroid use ~80%. Finally, longer observations show that 6-months of IMT reduces absence from school/work (by ~95%) and use of healthcare resources (by ~75%).
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