The section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine provides a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with respiratory system disorders. The critical care services are focused in the Trauma and Life Support Center (TLC), which is a 24 bed multi-disciplinary medical-surgical intensive care unit. The UW Med Flight helicopter is available for transport of critically ill patients to the TLC. An active consultation service and a number of subspecialty outpatient clinics provide resources for diagnosis and management of patients with lung disease. Special clinical expertise has been assembled to serve patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, sleep disorders, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, lung transplantation, infectious diseases of the lungs and pulmonary vascular disease. Diagnostic procedures include fiberoptic bronchoscopy with transbronchial lung biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage, pleural biopsy, and pulmonary artery catheterization. Special facilities include a pulmonary diagnostic laboratory, an exercise physiology laboratory, a sleep disorders laboratory and the General Clinical Research Center.

Major research interests include:

• Asthma. Basic studies of the role of inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of asthma are complemented with clinical research to identify more effective therapeutic strategies.
• Sleep disordered breathing. The causes and consequences of sleep apnea are investigated with particular emphasis on the cardiovascular consequences of sleep apnea.
• Lung inflammation. The role of inflammatory mediators is investigated in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis, graft rejection following lung transplantation, and aging. Clinical trials assess innovative approaches to modifying the inflammatory response to reduce lung injury.
• Infectious diseases of the lung. The role of infection in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis and in the natural history of HIV/AIDS is investigated using experimental and epidemiological techniques.
• Critical care. Clinical studies using the extensive critical care database have been performed to investigate the impact of patient care processes on outcomes and costs. Interventions and follow-up assessments of efficacy are performed to assess new ways to delivery patient care in the intensive care unit.
• Lung cancer. Innovative diagnostic strategies for the early detection of lung cancer have been developed and tested. Gene therapy for lung cancer treatment is being tested.