My name is Dr. D. Kyle Hogarth. I’m an Associate Professor of Medicine in the section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at The University of Chicago. I am the Director of Bronchoscopy and heavily involved in the field of interventional bronchoscopy and the first physician to perform bronchial thermoplasty (BT) in Illinois. I’m also a member of the American College of Chest Physicians, an organization representing 19,000+ clinicians practicing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.
The number of asthma cases is multiplying yearly in the U.S. According to the CDC, it is estimated that 1 in 12 people have asthma, as compared with 1 in 14 in 2001. Of that number about 5 percent of people have severe asthma, and while BT is not a cure for those with severe asthma, it offers the opportunity for asthma medications to work and improve patients’ quality of life.
While many people with asthma can adequately manage and control their asthma with drugs and inhalers, the 5 percent of people who cannot face daily challenges. BT is a treatment method for patients with severe asthma who continue to have asthma symptoms even when receiving maximal medical treatment. The treatment uses a catheter tipped with a wire probe to deliver thermal energy to the airway wall as it works to reduce the mass of the airway smooth muscle.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: My thoughts and opinions are my own, but in the spirit of transparency, I want to disclose that I have received compensation from Boston Scientific to promote awareness of bronchial thermoplasty among patients and healthcare providers in the past and have received financial support for research and fellowship education.
I will be back at 1 pm ET to answer your questions, ask me anything!
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