Pulmonx touts quality of life, lung function improvements in 1-year Zephyr endobronchial valve IDE study

This study was the largest, longest study to use a less-invasive or minimally-invasive technique using these one-way valves,” Dr. Criner said. Dr. Criner said that after one year, patients treated with the Zephyr valves were significnatly more likely to show improvements in lung function, measured as forced expiratory volume in one second, or FEV1. “Patients that were treated had about a three times greater likelihood of having significant improvement in FEV1, more than 15% in 45% of the treated group compared to 11% of the control,” Dr. Criner said. Additionally, patients treated with the Zephyr reported more ease in performing daily activities, including improving walking distances by 34 meters as compared to the control group. The most common side effect as a result of the procedure was pneumothorax, or air leaks in the lung, which occurred in approximately 33% of patients, though no intervention was required in 20% of those incidents and the majority of the remaining incidents were addressed with standard medical management, Pulmonx said in a press release. Dr. Criner said that the therapy worked well because, on average, patients treated with the Zephyr valve had the ability to decrease air in the affected lung lobes by about 1 liter, which resulted in an approximately half-liter reduction in the physiologic measures of air trapping overall. “Its good news for patients with emphysema and COPD. I’m at the American Thoracic Society and this st...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Clinical Trials Respiratory Pulmonx Source Type: news