Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Services

At the Vermont Children’s Hospital, we provide comprehensive services for infants, children and adolescents with acute and chronic respiratory problems. Some of the common conditions our University of Vermont Medical Group pulmonary medicine specialists diagnose and treat include respiratory illness, asthma, congenital and acquired abnormalities of the respiratory tract, recurrent pneumonia and other chronic pulmonary diseases.

Asthma

Asthma is one of the leading chronic illnesses among children in the United States, and one of the main causes for childhood hospitalizations under age 15.

Asthma in children is a chronic, inflammatory disease that occurs when the airways become sensitive to certain substances or infections that trigger a reaction in the bronchial tubes. This causes the airways to narrow and leads to asthma symptoms including coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing and fatigue.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening disease that affects the cells that produce mucus in the lungs, sweat, and digestive juices. It is an inherited condition and occurs when a defective gene causes these secretions to become thick and sticky, plugging up tubes and passageways in the body. Cystic fibrosis in children is chronic, progressive disorder. Recent advances in the care of patients with cystic fibrosis combined with an aggressive, early approach to treatment has resulted in much better rates of survival.

Airway Disorders

Many infants are born with or develop "noisy breathing" during the first few months of life. This noise can be due to floppy airways, a partial blockage of the windpipe, or compression by a blood vessel. These conditions can be evaluated with bronchoscopy.