Pulmonologists diagnose and treat problems with your lungs and respiratory system. Asthma, bronchitis, COPD and cystic fibrosis are a few of the conditions they care for. CoxHealth’s pulmonologists work closely with our Sleep Disorder Center to help diagnose and treat conditions that affect your quality of sleep.
Common pulmonary diagnostic testing includes:
Arterial blood gases (ABG)
Measures acidity, and levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide, in your blood from an artery.Pulmonary function testing
Evaluates how your lungs work.
Spirometry
Measures how much and how quickly you move air out of your lungs.
Stress test
Evaluates how exercise affects your lung function test.
If your physician decides you need special respiratory care, you’ll be treated by a respiratory therapist. It’s common for patients of all ages in the emergency department, an ICU and the Step-Down unit to require respiratory treatment.
Respiratory Care
If your doctor decides you need special respiratory care, you’ll be treated by a respiratory therapist. Patients in the emergency department, an ICU and the Step-Down unit often require this treatment.
Types of Respiratory Treatments
Medication Delivery
Medications, including bronchodilators, anti-inflamatory, mucolytics and antibiotics, can be delivered with a variety of devices.
Lung Expansion
After surgery, you may need a lung expansion device. Some lung expansion devices encourage you to take prolonged, deeper breaths while others help you do so.
Secretion Clearance
If you have thick secretions that you can’t expel on your own, you may need the help of a respiratory therapist.
Advanced Respiratory Care
In noninvasive ventilation, breathing support is provided through a pressurized mask. This helps you breathe while supplying supplemental oxygen.
Patients who require invasive ventilation receive breathing support and supplemental oxygen through a tube inserted into the throat or neck.
If a patient’s breathing fails, intubation may be necessary. During this procedure a tube is placed in the patient’s throat to control breathing.
If a patient experiences a code blue (sudden cardiac death or respiratory arrest), a respiratory therapist will care for the patient’s airway, perform CPR and obtain needed blood samples.