Asthma Intervention Research 2 (AIR2) clinical trial data has demonstrated that the Boston Scientific Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty (BT) System continues to show therapy benefits in adult patients with severe uncontrolled asthma.
BT system, which was shown to provide long term asthma control, demonstrated a sustained reduction in the rate of asthma attacks and emergency room visits over a five year period after treatment.
The aim of the study was to prove that the percentage of patients experiencing severe aggravations over the five years following BT was not considerably worse than the percentage of patients having exacerbations in the first year after BT.
American Thoracic Society Philadelphia Asthma Program director and AIR2 trial investigator Michael Wechsler said that BT represents a one time, long term option for achieving better asthma control in a select population of patients.
"Left uncontrolled, these patients contribute to a disproportionate share of the costs associated with treating asthma," Wechsler added.
The BT system is a bronchoscopic procedure providing long lasting asthma control that has evaluated a strong long term safety and efficacy profile out to at least five years in four consecutive clinical trials.
Boston Scientific Endoscopy president David Pierce said, "These clinically meaningful improvements demonstrate that Bronchial Thermoplasty improves patient outcomes and quality of life. In addition, by significantly reducing health care utilization, Bronchial Thermoplasty presents an opportunity to reduce overall health care costs for asthma."
