Pulmonology (Lung Disease)
Our Expertise
The Sue and John L. Weinberg Cystic Fibrosis Center
The Sue and John L. Weinberg Cystic Fibrosis Center, under the direction of Lynne M. Quittell, MD, is among the top five centers in median lung function in the United States. Together with the Sarah E. Nash Children's Lung Center, they form a tertiary center for the full range of acute and chronic respiratory diseases in infants, children, and adolescents. Our specialists treat asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung injury, recurrent pneumonia and other respiratory disorders. The Sue and John L. Weinberg Cystic Fibrosis Center is a nationally accredited program by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, enabling patients to have access to clinical trials of the newest antibiotic and anti-inflammation therapies for management of the disease and its complications. It is also a New York State-approved referral center for cystic fibrosis screening in newborns. The Center's multidisciplinary team includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and respiratory therapists.
Pediatric Sleep Disorders CenterUnder the direction of Carin I. Lamm, MD, one of only a few pediatricians board certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine, the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center provides the diagnosis, management, and treatment of sleep disorders in newborns, children, and adolescents. The Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center calls on a team of pediatric pulmonologists, a nurse practitioner, behavioral therapists, and nutritionists to evaluate and treat children with all types of sleep disorders.
The Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center offers state-of-the-art computerized equipment that permits a wide variety of evaluation techniques. Selected patients may require a polysomnogram, an overnight sleep study in the Center's comfortable and child-friendly two-bed sleep laboratory that opened in 2008 in the Sarah E. Nash Children's Lung Center. Parents stay overnight with their child, while technicians monitor the child continuously and also provide one-on-one care for physical and emotional support. During a sleep study, the child is monitored for multiple brain and body activities, including brain waves (EEG), eye movements, limb movements, muscle activity, and heart rate. Other monitors measure breathing, chest, and abdominal respiratory movements, airflow at the nose and mouth, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.
Neuromuscular Disease ClinicThe Neuromuscular Disease Clinic, directed by Andrei Constantinescu, MD, PhD, provides diagnosis and treatment for children with respiratory problems associated with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases.
Pulmonary Function LaboratoryThe Pulmonary Function Laboratory non-invasively measures lung function, including the speed at which air comes out of the lungs; the size of the lungs; and how the air gets across from the lung and into the blood vessels. Our physicians also measure the changes in lung function over time or with chronic therapy; or a child's immediate response to medications for asthma. This testing can provide critical information to the physicians of those children who are at possible risk for lung disease; or those with lung disease. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is one of the few centers in the New York metropolitan area able to measure and monitor lung function in children of any age, including infants.
Exercise Physiology LaboratoryThe Exercise Physiology Laboratory is among the few such laboratories in the Northeast that provides non-invasive measurement of heart and lung function during progressive exercise in children and adolescents. The exercise test is performed when the patient is either on a bicycle or treadmill. Pulmonary function tests are conducted before exercise. During exercise the heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels are monitored and the air that is breathed in and out is measured. In some patients, especially those with lung disease, pulmonary functions are often repeated following the exercise test.
BronchoscopyDiagnostic tests include flexible bronchoscopy for infants and children of any age, which is usually performed on an ambulatory basis under conditions ensuring the highest level of safety for the patient. It is an important tool in the evaluation of children with chronic or persistent wheeze or stridor (a whistling sound when breathing, usually heard on inspiration, that may indicate obstruction of the trachea or larynx); recurrent or persistent pneumonia; any persistent or recurring abnormalities on the chest radiograph; or an unusual breathing pattern or noises.
