Specialty - Respiratory
Overview
Respiratory medicine diagnoses, treats and provides continued care for people with diseases affecting the lungs and breathing. Common symptoms or signs of lung disease include: shortness of breath, wheezing, long-term cough, phlegm, coughing up blood, and having chest pains.
Your GP will request an appointment in the outpatient clinic if they are concerned about your lungs and breathing and feel you require a specialist opinion. Respiratory is a regional service with all referrals being graded at Tauranga Hospital by the Respiratory specialists before appointing to clinics at either Tauranga or Whakatane Hospital. The Department reviews the referral letters to determine who should be seen first, based on the information provided by the GP. Urgent cases are seen within hours to a couple of weeks, but other cases may have to wait a longer period. Routine cases are often returned to the GP, unseen.
Further diagnostic tests may be required before a treatment plan can be discussed with you and your GP informed of the outcome.
Common Respiratory Procedures are:
Bronchoscopy
What is a Bronchoscopy?
An examination of the upper and lower airways (breathing tubes), with a flexible fibre optic tube that is passed via the nose into the passages of the lungs. The process may involve removal of secretions, and taking of samples from the breathing tubes.
Why is a Bronchoscopy done?
Indications include: Coughing up of blood, persistent cough, abnormal chest xray, shortness of breath or suspected TB.
Chest CT
CT scans of internal organs, bones, soft tissue and blood vessels provide greater clarity and reveal more details than regular x-ray exams. Chest CT can demonstrate various lung disorders.
Fine Needle Aspiration
This is a diagnostic procedure used in addition to a CT scan where a needle is inserted into the chest into a mass that needs further investigation. Cells are sucked up into the needle for further examination. This is normally carried out while taking pictures with the CT scanner to guide the specialist as to where to place the needle. Local anaesthetic is used so that the test is not overly painful.
Pulmonary Function Testing (PFT’s)
This test measures lung function, specifically the measurement of the amount and speed of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Generally you will be asked to take the deepest breath you can and then exhale into the sensor as hard as possible for as long as possible. During the test, soft nose clips may be used to prevent air escaping through the nose.
Sleep studies
A sleep study is to assess disordered breathing during sleep.
What is Sleep Apnoea?
Sleep Apnoea is a sleep disorder which occurs during sleep. This is the mostly due to blocking off of the breathing passages around the mouth and
nose…OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnoea). Sufferers stop breathing at certain times during sleep – up to hundreds of times a night.
While not breathing the body is deprived of oxygen. This causes a number of problems, particularly excessive sleepiness during the day which can result,
for example, in poor work and school performances and falling asleep at the wheel of a car. There may be problems with blood pressure and heart disease
long term.
Referral / First Specialist Assessment (FSA)
A threshold for FSA referral acceptance has been set to assist with Ministry of Health (MOH) waiting time compliance.