General Question for the Week of September 16, 2019

Question:

What was the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT)?

Answer:

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information:

“The National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) was a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial, comparing the efficacy of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) plus medical management with rehabilitation to medical management with rehabilitation in 1,218 patients with severe emphysema. The NETT was a precedent-setting collaborative effort of three government agencies: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). NETT provided Medicare beneficiaries with controlled access to a promising but unproven procedure, while scientifically valid data on the efficacy and costs were collected to guide future use, coverage decisions, and policy.”