Efficacy of Bronchial Thermoplasty in Korean

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1) Eighteen-year-old or older
• 2) Patients whose asthma is not controlled with more than three months of using high dose inhaled steroids and long acting β2-agonists
• 3) Patients with pre-bronchodilator FEV1 is between sixty and eighty-five%
• 4) Patients who do not improve through continuous drug uses.

Exclusion Criteria:

• 1) Presence of a pacemaker, internal defibrillator, or other implantable electronic devices,
• 2) Known sensitivity to medications required to perform bronchoscopy, including lidocaine, atropine, and benzodiazepines.
• 3) Patients previously treated with the Alair System should not be retreated in the same area(s). No clinical data are available studying the safety and/or effectiveness of repeat treatments.
• 4)Active respiratory infection
• 5) Asthma exacerbation or changing dose of systemic corticosteroids for asthma (up or down) in the past 14 days.
• 6) Known coagulopathy.
• 7) As with other bronchoscopic procedures, patients should stop taking anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents, aspirin and NSAIDS before the procedure with physician guidance.