The Influence of Lung Volume Reduction with Intrabronchial Valves on the Quality of Life of Patients with Heterogeneous Emphysema—A Prospective Study

Introduction: A heterogeneous emphysema is one of the most severe forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In some cases, besides the standard pharmacotherapy, a new treatment option of emphysema can be used—bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) with the use of intrabronchial valves. Objectives: To examine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with severe emphysema after intrabronchial valve (IBV) implantation for the treatment of one lung. Materials and Methods: From 2011 to 2013 a single centre prospective observational study was performed. The study assessed the effect of the therapeutic BLVR intervention, measured by St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). A statistical analysis by use of Wilcoxon test for dependent variables was performed. Results: Twenty patients were enrolled to the study (mean age 63 ± 10 years), all ex-smokers with tobacco exposure 38 ± 11.3 packyears. After 3 months of IBV treatment the average SGRQ score improved significantly in total (–12.8; p < 0.001) and in domains and the differences were for: “symptoms” (–8.5; p < 0.001), “activity” (–13.9; p < 0.001) and “influence on life”(–13.5; p < 0.002). Conclusions: The presented study revealed a significant improvement of the quality in the life measured by SGRQ after IBV treatment for heterogeneous emphysema. For the first time our study showed the significant improvement of all three domains of SGRQ after IBV treatment.