Consults and Other Referrals
The Temple Lung Center is a high-volume center with documented superior outcomes. We are one of the largest pulmonary referral centers in the nation, seeing over 9000 patients every year. In addition to helping patients with advanced and complex illnesses (such as pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, and advanced COPD), Temple pulmonologists are always ready to offer second opinions and develop definitive diagnoses for patients with any range of more general pulmonary disorders. These include:
- Common or overlapping respiratory symptoms of undetermined cause
(eg, chronic cough, shortness of breath, and wheezing)
- Lung disorders that may be masked by or complicated by other disorders
(eg, bronchiectasis, asthma, acute bronchitis, infection)
- Patients who are refractory to or cannot tolerate standard therapy
(eg, asthma, long-standing or recurrent pneumonia)
- Unusual clinical or diagnostic presentations
All of our patients are seen in our spacious new facility, which was built exclusively for the care of patients with lung disease. Every patient is assigned to a board-certified pulmonologist who coordinates all care and ensures that all patients receive comfort, answers, options, and results. We are committed to helping referring physicians stay on top of their patient’s care every step of the way.
Customized options and care for every patient
Based on the evaluation and diagnosis, we find the best treatment plan for every patient, we work as a highly integrated unit to implement that plan, and then we communicate with the patient’s family, primary and referring physicians, and insurer to assess needs, answer questions, link to other resources, and lay the groundwork for ongoing care. In many cases, once the problem is diagnosed, Temple’s nurse coordinators can quickly arrange for the needed care with other clinical specialists, pharmacists, insurance groups, medical device vendors, or pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Temple nursing staff also manages the patient education and follow-up that can be critical to good outcomes.
Temple is Asking:
How can active people or athletes with asthma avoid exercise-induced attacks?
Patients with asthma that is undiagnosed, rapidly worsening, or refractory to treatment are commonly referred to the Temple Lung Center. The Temple Asthma Program specializes in full allergy evaluation and differential diagnosis, reduction of causative or contributing factors, and intensive patient/family education with a focus on increased treatment compliance. Temple’s asthma team achieves complete symptom control in up to 80% of asthma patients. Such outcomes are possible in part due to Temple clinician awareness of, and active participation in, asthma clinical research projects. For example, one recent Temple-led research project examined the scope and characteristics of exercise-induced asthma attacks in adolescent athletes. The results are leading to a set of practical recommendations (eg, warm-up tips, humidity control, pharmaceutical timing) to help high school football players avoid bronchospasm—and continue playing their sport.
Patients with undiagnosed, rapidly worsening, or refractory asthma are commonly referred to the Temple Lung Center. The Temple Asthma Program specializes in full allergy evaluation and differential diagnosis, reduction of causative or contributing factors, and intensive patient/family education with a focus on increased treatment compliance. Temple’s asthma team achieves complete symptom control in up to 80% of asthma patients. Such outcomes are possible in part due to Temple clinician awareness of, and active participation in, asthma clinical research projects. For example, one recent Temple-led research project examined the scope and characteristics of exercise-induced asthma attacks in adolescent athletes. The results are leading to a set of practical recommendations (eg, warm-up tips, humidity control, pharmaceutical timing) to help high school football players avoid bronchospasm—and continue playing their sport.
Temple’s comprehensive evaluation of patients with undefined, treatment-resistant, or otherwise complicated conditions often leads to a more precise diagnosis and improved medical or surgical treatment. In addition to standard tools such as CT scans, bronchoscopy, and transthoracic needle biopsy, Temple clinicians use advanced imaging capabilities (eg, Enhanced Emphysema CT Scan) and special physiologic or pulmonary function tests available in the Temple Pulmonary Function Laboratory (eg, diffusion capacity, diaphragm strength, airway hyper-responsiveness, cardiopulmonary exercise testing of inspiratory capacity). Also, the Temple Lung Tissue Bank is maintained in coordination with the medical school faculty to ensure that the Temple Lung Center remains in the forefront of advances in the genomic and histologic characterization of lung diseases.
The Temple Lung Center can help all patients with serious lung disease. Please contact us if you think we can assist with any chronically or severely ill patients who have exhausted the standard diagnostic and therapy options. We will assign a lung specialist to the case, look at the whole clinical picture, and then consider the full range of options—including aggressive or innovative approaches—based on the patient’s unique clinical situation and preferences.
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