Airway Disease Program | Hackensack University Medical Center

The Airway Disease Program encompasses an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with chronic airways disease. Patients may have conditions of the lower airways or lungs, such as asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. Often co-existing with these conditions are upper airway disorders affecting the nose, sinuses, and throat, including common problems like chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, allergies, and reflux disease. The symptoms of these conditions, like shortness of breath or cough, are non-specific and overlapping, which can make accurate diagnosis difficult for both patients and physicians. The Airway Disease Program fosters collaboration between pulmonologists, allergists, otolaryngologists (ENT), and gastroenterologists to help patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment. The program acts as a referral center for internists and other pulmonologists for challenging cases.

In our pulmonary function lab, we can perform advanced pulmonary diagnostic evaluation beyond routine lung function tests, including methacholine challenge and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Patients can be evaluated for advanced therapies, such as biologic medications for severe asthma and COPD, and bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (endobronchial valve placement) for advanced emphysema. We also have an on-site pulmonary rehabilitation program for patients who may benefit from a supervised cardiopulmonary exercise program to improve their breathing and functional status.

Fellows Experience in Airway Disease

Airway pathology makes up a large percentage of the lung disease that a pulmonary specialist will encounter in practice. Diagnostic evaluation with pulmonary function testing is essential to understanding all types of lung disease, and it is particularly central to the assessment of airways disease and commonly encountered respiratory symptoms. Through the didactic curriculum and their inpatient and outpatient experience, fellows will receive a broad exposure to airways disease of all severities, and they will become well-versed in ordering and interpreting the appropriate physiologic and imaging tests. They will have access to the latest advances in therapies including biologic medications for asthma and COPD, and advanced bronchoscopic interventions.