Body Composition after Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction with Endobronchial Valves: A Prospective Study

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Medical Devices
• Body Composition Analysis

Background:

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and emphysema often lead to malnutrition and pulmonary cachexia.
• Endoscopic lung volume reduction (ELVR) using endobronchial valves improves lung function and quality of life.
• Limited data exists on the impact of ELVR on body composition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in body composition before and after ELVR in advanced COPD patients.
• To evaluate the effect of ELVR on various body composition parameters using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).

Main Methods:

• A single-center prospective study involving 23 patients with advanced COPD.
• Multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to assess body composition parameters.
• Evaluated parameters included body weight, BMI, basal metabolic rate, total body water, body fat, cell percentage, phase angle, ICW, ECW, ECM, BCM, lean body mass, and fat-free mass index.

Main Results:

• Patients showed improvements in lung function and exercise capacity post-ELVR.
• A non-statistically significant increase in body weight and BMI was observed.
• BIA revealed a non-significant worsening of phase angle, cell percentage, and ECM/BCM, indicating poorer body composition.
• Significant increases in extracellular mass (ECM), extracellular water (ECW), and intracellular water (ICW) were noted.

Conclusions:

• ELVR did not demonstrate beneficial changes in body composition in COPD patients, despite a trend towards weight gain.
• Larger cohort studies are required to validate these findings on body composition after ELVR.