The Division of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine provides comprehensive care to infants, children and adults with a full spectrum of respiratory disorders. The division is committed to excellence and is nationally recognized for quality of patient care, education, research and advocacy. Care is guided in all age groups by the routine measurements of lung function, including pre-school age testing that is unique and unavailable at other pediatric centers. Disease-specific programs driven by pulmonary faculty include the Duke Cystic Fibrosis Center, the Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airway Diseases Center and the Duke Pediatric Sleep-Disordered Breathing Program. Comprehensive multi-disciplinary care is provided by physicians, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, physical therapists and social workers. The transitional program to adult care in cystic fibrosis was one of the first in the nation.

The division provides teaching and training in pediatric pulmonology to medical students, residents and fellows and has conducted one of the Department of Pediatrics' annual post-graduate conferences, the Alexander Spock Symposium, for over thirty years. The fellowship training program, which is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and leads to certification by the Subboard on Pulmonology of the American Board of Pediatrics, is designed to train future leaders in academic pediatric pulmonology. This training program consists of a year of clinical training and two years of either basic research or clinical/translational research. A fourth year of research training is available by application.

Faculty and fellows of the division conduct a wide variety of basic and applied pulmonary research. Past and current participation in clinical trials sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has contributed to the establishment of current and future therapies. Clinical outcomes research has documented the important contribution of alpha glucosidase infusions in improving lung function and prolonging the lives of infants with Pompe's disease. Recent translational work focuses on the examination of the genesis of airway remodeling in asthma. Basic research in the division is supported by five R01 research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The focus of this research is on bronchial mucus, inflammation and regeneration of bronchial epithelial cells and the relationship of age and early allergic sensitization to long-term bronchial muscle spasms. This basic research is important to patients with cystic fibrosis, asthma and other bronchial diseases.

The division is notably active locally, nationally, and internationally in its advocacy for pulmonary clinical, educational and research programs.

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Treatments

The Division of Pulmonary Medicine provides consultative care for patients with the following conditions:

• Asthma
• Breathing disorders during sleep
• Cystic fibrosis
• Chronic lung disease of infancy
• Aspiration syndromes
• Bronchiolitis
• Home ventilation
• Respiratory dystrophies
• Restrictive lung diseases
• Mucopolysaccharidoses, such as Pompe's Disease
• Interstitial lung disease
• Rare lung diseases

Asthma care is provided both at the Duke Children's Health Center at the Duke Medical Center main campus on Erwin Road in Durham, at Duke Consultative Services of Raleigh on Wake Forest Road, and at the Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airways Disorders Clinic at Independence Square in Durham. A special expertise of the Duke pediatric pulmonary faculty is the evaluation of infants and younger children with recurrent cough and wheezing.

The division operates the only laboratory in North Carolina dedicated to the evaluation of sleep in children with respiratory-disordered breathing. The director, Dr. Richard Kravitz, is board-certified in sleep medicine, as well as pediatric pulmonology. This laboratory is supported by a close relationship with Duke's otolaryngologic surgeons and pediatric neurologists.

The division is also home to the Duke Cystic Fibrosis Center, the first in North or South Carolina, which is certified by the national Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This clinic offers multidisciplinary care for infants, children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Evaluation for lung transplantation is available for adolescents above the age of 16 years. The adolescent/adult lung transplantation program is one of the largest and most experienced in the nation. A key to patient assessment is the measurement of pulmonary function, which is performed for all age groups. The division offers the only routine non-sedated pulmonary function assessments in the nation for infants and pre-school age children.

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Physicians and Staff

Physicians

Staff

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Clinic Hours and Location

Hours: Daily, 8:30am - 5:00pm

Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:30am - 5:00pm

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Appointments and Contact Information

To serve our patients and referring physicians, faculty physicians covering pediatric pulmonology are always on call to answer questions and provide consultation.

• For new or return appointments at the Children's Health Center, please call 919-668-4000 or 919-684-3364.
• For new or return appointments at the Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airways Disorder Center, please call 919-668-4000 or 919-684-3364.
• For new or return appointments at Duke Children's Consultative Services of Raleigh, please call 919-668-4000 or 919-862-5750.
• For urgent calls during business hours, call the divisional office at 919-684-3364.
• For urgent calls after business hours, on weekends, or on holidays, please call 919-684-8111 and ask for pager #7315.
• For physicians requesting consultations or making referrals, please call the divisional office at 919-681-3364 or the Duke Consultation and Referral Center at 800-MED-DUKE (800-633-3853).

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