We often take breathing for granted and don’t really think about
our next breath. But anyone can experience breathing difficulties. Whether
breathing problems result from asthma, allergies or a less common pulmonary
disease such as cystic fibrosis, you need to pay close attention to any
signs your child or teen can’t get the oxygen they need and act quickly to get top-quality care for your child or teen.
Comprehensive Pediatric Pulmonology & Respiratory Care
When you trust your child’s respiratory care to Oklahoma Children’s
Hospital’s Pediatric Pulmonary and Cystic Fibrosis Center in Oklahoma
City, you’ll find peace of mind knowing your child or teen receives
treatment from board-certified pediatric pulmonologists at Oklahoma’s
only referral center accredited by the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
You and your child work with a multidisciplinary team of experts from many
healthcare specialties to develop an individualized treatment plan that
fits your child’s specific situation. At Oklahoma Children’s
Hospital, your child benefits from an accurate diagnosis, expert care
management and comprehensive treatment for a wide range of conditions
and disorders related to the lungs and respiratory system.
Call for an Appointment or Second Opinion
Ask your doctor for a referral to specialized pediatric pulmonary and respiratory
care experts or request an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist.
Caring for your child’s lungs and breathing capacity starts with
a thorough evaluation using the full spectrum of advanced diagnostic technology
and techniques at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital’s pediatric
pulmonary function testing (PFT) lab. To support an accurate diagnosis,
your child may need one or more
pulmonary function tests such as:
Continuous oximetry – Measures blood oxygen levels continuously;
usually conducted overnight at home
Diffusion capacity – Tests how well air moves into the bloodstream
Exercise testing for respiratory dysfunction induced by physical activity
Lung plethysmography – Measures changes in volume within an organ
or whole body, including functional residual capacity (FRC) of lungs,
the volume of lungs when relaxed and total lung capacity
6-minute walk test
Spirometry – Measures the ability to breathe quickly
Treatment for Pediatric Pulmonary Conditions
At Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, you can count on expert pediatric
pulmonologists to treat all childhood respiratory disorders including:
In addition, your child can get an evaluation of pulmonary status/health
when receiving chemotherapy.
Care for Children with Asthma
If your child lives with asthma, you and your family need support and the
knowledge to recognize, treat and prevent serious asthma attacks. Knowing
your child’s
asthma triggers, how to keep their lungs healthy through
exercise and
how to deal with a flare up can significantly improve your child’s quality of life.
Choose the Pediatric Pulmonary and Cystic Fibrosis Center at Oklahoma Children’s
Hospital to support you and your child with comprehensive care, including
a complete evaluation. In addition, your child receives an individualized
Asthma Action Plan for treatment and intervention, along with personalized
education by a certified asthma educator (AE-C).
Rely on Oklahoma Children’s Hospital to provide top-quality respiratory
care for your child because we follow the latest National Asthma Education
and Prevention Program (NAEPP) treatment guidelines developed by a division
of the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). This group of asthma experts from around the
country regularly evaluates the latest asthma research and provides clinical
guidance on best diagnosis and treatment methods.
Ventilation Support for Your Child at Home
You can also take advantage of our Pediatric Home Ventilation Support Program
of Oklahoma, which serves the respiratory needs of children from infancy
through adolescence. As part of this program, you benefit from in-depth
family education for invasive and noninvasive ventilation so your child
can receive necessary breathing treatment at home. For information, call
(405) 271-2234.
Related Resources
Learn more about pulmonary and respiratory conditions, treatments and prevention
through these online resources:
Choosing OU Health Pediatric Pulmonary and Cystic Fibrosis Center for your
child’s care means you gain access to board-certified pediatric
pulmonologists and pediatric critical care physicians.
You’ll also work with a diverse team of healthcare specialists, including
certified physician assistants (PA-C), advanced practice registered nurses
(APRN), certified asthma educators (AE-C), nurses, clinical research coordinators,
clinical pharmacists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, social workers
and others who specialize in caring for infants, children and adolescents
with asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung and breathing problems.
Breathing Care from Highly Trained Pediatric Respiratory Therapists
If your child experiences breathing difficulties due to an injury, surgical
procedure or medical condition while in the hospital, your family benefits
from the expertise of 24/7 care available from the extensive experience
of more than 70 respiratory care therapists working throughout the hospital
to care for thousands of babies and children every year.
These highly trained therapists work closely with physicians, nurses, and
other team members to provide care to treat multiple diseases, including
asthma, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart and lung disease, RSV and more
in children from newborn to adolescents. This coordinated care promotes
and environment of safety while reducing stress for you and your child
and also helping with healing. These efforts typically help achieve superior
outcomes for your child’s respiratory conditions.
At Oklahoma Children's Hospital, our respiratory therapist are an essential
part of the care team who:
Administer respiratory therapies ranging from surfactant delivery to high
frequency oscillator (HFO) ventilation
Lead quality improvement initiatives to enhance asthma care by practicing
research-based care
Integrate into our pediatric anesthesiology, emergency medicine, pulmonology,
critical care and neonatology teams
Conduct pulmonary function testing and sleep medicine evaluations
Manage discharge coordination if your child needs additional support due
to the use of respiratory technology.
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