Footnotes

• MT and AUW are joint chair authors.

• Contributors The following individuals were responsible for drafting the manuscript for submission to Thorax. MT, CPA, AC, SPH, L-PH, VK, KP, NJS, JW, AUW. MT and AUW were the authors responsible for final completion of the manuscript. All authors approved the final content of the submitted draft.

• Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

• Disclaimer A Clinical Statement reflects the expert views of a group of specialists who are well versed on the topic concerned, and who carefully examine the available evidence in relation to their own clinical practice. A Clinical Statement does not involve a formal evidence review and is not developed in accordance with clinical practice guideline methodology. Clinical Statements are not intended as legal documents or a primary source of detailed technical information. Readers are encouraged to consider the information presented and reach their own conclusions.

• Competing interests Declarations of interest were completed in line with the BTS Policy and are available from the BTS Office on request.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.