Prof. Dr. med. Ralf Eberhardt Presents “Heidelberg Algorithm” for Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction Patient Selection at ERS 2017

Milan, Italy -- At the annual European Respiratory Society (ERS) meeting last week in Milan, Italy, Prof. Dr. med Ralf Eberhardt of Thoraxklinik at Heidelberg presented the algorithm (Figure 1) used in clinical practice to select the appropriate lung volume reduction technique based on current published data.  Lung volume reduction is a procedure intended to treat late stage emphysema patients to improve their pulmonary function, exercise tolerance ,and quality of life.  After identifying a patient with severe emphysema, patients at Heidelberg are scanned with a high-resolution CT, which is then sent for a quantitative CT analysis (QCT). The QCT returns fissure integrity and emphysema disease distribution at the segmental level.  Patients with upper lobe predominant disease where all segments are more diseased than the lower lobe, and no collateral ventilation (CV-) are offered valves or surgery for treatment.  The remainder of upper lobe predominant diseased patients are offered Uptake Medical's InterVapor Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation (BTVA) or surgery.  This includes both CV+ patients, and patients that have a healthy upper lobe segment in the treatment lobe. 

”The recent sub-group analysis of the BTVA STEP-UP RCT1 shows very clearly that patients with collateral ventilation have significant and clinically meaningful improvement in lung function and quality life with a very low rate of major medical complications. In these patients, BTVA has been shown to have the best efficacy to safety profile, which is why BTVA is our first choice in patients with collateral ventilation. Additionally, the fact that BTVA can target disease at the segmental level is an advantage in certain patients due to the individual presentation of disease within a targeted lobe.  We now have the therapies that allow us to assess each patient individually and offer the most effective treatment based on the presentation of their individual disease” says Professor Ralf Eberhardt.

The BTVA InterVapor System is CE-Marked and approved for sale in the European Union.  CAUTION: The BTVA InterVapor System is not approved for use in the United States.

1)      Gompelmann, D., Eberhardt, R., Schuhmann, M., Valipour, A., Shah, P. L., Herth, F. J. F., & Kontogianni, K. (2016). Lung Volume Reduction with Vapor Ablation in the Presence of Incomplete Fissures: 12-Month Results from the STEP-UP Randomized Controlled Study. Respiration; International Review of Thoracic Diseases, 92(6), 397–403. https://doi.org/10.1159/000452424

Figure 1.  Algorithm presented at ERS 2017, Milan, Italy.