Targeting better control with biologic therapy. In the United States, asthma affects 8% of adults and 7% children1. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction and hyper-responsiveness with symptoms of wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough2. Despite optimization of standard care regimens, ... Continue Reading
The Evolving Role of Robotic Bronchoscopy
Lung cancer continues as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States in men and the second leading cause in women.1 The role for accurate, timely and sensitive diagnostic procedures continues to evolve. With this, bronchoscopy became a proven safe and accurate method for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.2 With the implementation ... Continue Reading
Allergic Bronchopulmonary
By Seth Walker, M.D.
Aspergillosis Diagnosis and Treatment Aspergillus is a ubiquitous genus of saprophytic fungi that has been shown to cause disease in humans. While several species may be pathogenic, the majority of infections develop due to A. fumigatus. This is due to its ability to grow in a wide range of temperatures and soil pH, as well as the size of its conidia (2-3 microns in ... Continue Reading
Lung Cancer Screening is a New Standard of Care
By Howard Silverboard, MD
Improving lung cancer outcomes through screening and early detection Lung cancer remains the No. 1 cause of cancer-related death in the United States, accounting for almost 25% of all cancer-related deaths (more than colon, breast and ovarian cancers combined). Further, most cases of lung cancer present at an advanced stage when available treatments are less effective and ... Continue Reading
Bronchiectasis: The Age-Old Masquerader
By Haider Ali, MD
New world, old problems Bronchiectasis is a disease first described in 1819 by Rene Laënnec with his newly invented stethoscope.1 Like many “old world†diseases, it has been neglected from a therapeutic perspective but in recent years has received renewed attention owing to its increased incidence and burden on modern healthcare systems. The disease is hallmarked by the ... Continue Reading
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
By Chad Everett Miller, MD
An uncommon but lethal cause of right heart failure While not as common as left heart failure, right heart failure, too, is a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), while a relatively uncommon disease, carries a poor prognosis even today as patients succumb to right heart failure. In recent decades, the ... Continue Reading
Innovations in Interventional Pulmonology
By Venk Lakshminarayanan, MD, Ph.D. Traditional bronchoscopy is a procedure allowing direct visualization of the tracheobronchial trees of the airway. Historically, the main types of bronchoscopy are rigid and flexible. Flexible bronchoscopy allows for visualization of the lumen, mucosa of the trachea, proximal airways and segmental airways to the third generation of segmental ... Continue Reading
Managing Incidentally Identified Pulmonary Nodules
By Robert J. Albin, MD, FCCP, FAASM Due to the ubiquitous availability of CT scanners, coupled with the ever-increasing propensity by physicians across all specialties to order advanced imaging studies, the number of incidentally detected pulmonary nodules has been soaring. Over a recent 7-year stretch, one large integrated health sys-tem reported a 53 percent increase in ... Continue Reading
An Update On Pulmonary Hypertension
By Micah Fisher, MD The area of pulmonary hypertension has seen an ex-plosion in interest and therapeutic options over the past 25 years. The first World Health Organization (WHO) international symposium was held in 1973, leading to a standardized definition, a classification system and calls for further investigation. That first classification system, dividing patients ... Continue Reading
Pulmonology
By Helen K. Kelley Pulmonology, an internal medicine subspecialty, is concerned with diseases of the lungs and bronchial tubes and often involves evaluation of the upper respiratory tract (nose, pharynx and throat) as well as the heart. Interventional pulmonology is a relatively new field in pulmonary medicine that uses endoscopy and other tools to diagnose and treat ... Continue Reading
Severe Emphysema Treatment Study at Emory
November 2008 Emory University researchers are participating in a nationwide study to explore an investigational treatment for advanced widespread emphysema. The EASE (Exhale Airway Stents for Emphysema) Trial focuses on airway bypass, a minimally invasive procedure designed to reduce excessive lung inflation and shortness of breath -- typical complications of emphysema - ... Continue Reading
