Lung volume reduction in real clinical practice

Abstract

Lung volume reduction options for severe emphysema patients are more and more recognised as a valid treatment option. In this issue of ERJ Open Research , D ooms et al . [1] present the results of a single centre cohort study which evaluated endobronchial valve (EBV) treatment and compared it with patients who were not eligible to undergo the treatment due to collateral ventilation. Afterwards, the patients who were not candidates for EBV treatment and the non-responders to the EBV treatment were evaluated, and if eligible, treated with surgical lung volume reduction (LVRS). With this design, the authors tried to combine and present multiple studies in one article, which made the study complex and difficult to draw conclusions from. However, the study does describe the current clinical practice with regards to the choice and potential order of bronchoscopic or LVRS treatments in patients with severe emphysema, which go hand in hand, and therefore is helpful in the guidance of routine care.