Respiratory Disease: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment | U.S. News

Pulmonary Fibrosis/Interstitial Lung Disease

Mission

The Program for Pulmonary Fibrosis and Interstitial Lung Disease's mission is to provide state of the art evaluation and treatment for patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILD). The University of Alabama at Birmingham ILD program is designated as a Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Foundation Care Center network site.

Objectives

To provide exceptional care to all of our patients

To maintain outstanding collaboration and communication with our colleagues to provide best possible care for our patients

To lead efforts in scientific discovery that informs the development of new and effective therapies for interstitial lung diseases, particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

To better understand disease mechanisms through translational research

To reach out to the community aiming to enhance ILD awareness and help improve the standards for evaluation, treatment and follow-up of patients

About Our Practice

Pulmonary fibrosis or interstitial lung diseases are chronic, progressive, lung disease characterized by disabling shortness of breath, declining exercise capacity and extensive formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the lung. There are several different types/causes of pulmonary fibrosis and are difficult to diagnose and treat. This program exists to better understand such illnesses, train physicians to more completely treat such illnesses, and to drive the creation of superior treatment options.

Our entire team at the ILD clinic is dedicated to improving the lives of our patients with ILD through patient care, education and research. Our multidisciplinary team combines the skills of pulmonologists, thoracic radiologists and thoracic pathologists, all of whom have specific expertise in ILD and meet weekly to discuss new patients evaluated in ILD clinic. The team also works closely with subspecialists, including the rheumatologists and lung transplant team.

TeamDr. Tejaswini Kulkarni, MD, MPH, Interstitial Lung Disease Program DirectorDr. Tracy Luckhardt, MDDr. Maria del Pilar Acosta Lara, MDDr. Kevin Dsouza, MDDr. Chao He, MD, PhDDr. Carla Copeland, MDLanier O'Hare, CRNPTonja Meadows, Nurse Manager

Pulmonary Fibrosis/Interstitial Lung Disease Program Contact Information

UAB Interstitial Lung Disease ProgramTHT 422, 1900 University BoulevardBirmingham, AL 35294-0006Phone: (205) 934-7557Fax: (205) 934-6229

Contacting the Program for Pulmonary Fibrosis and Interstitial Lung Disease

To refer a patient to this program, please contact our office administrator at (205) 934-7557 from 8 AM-5 PM, CT, Monday-Friday. In order to expedite the scheduling and the evaluation process, please forward the following documents to our office as soon as possible: 

1. Last clinic note or referral letter2. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs)3. Chest X-rays and CT scans - upload films to a CD and attach reports4. Lung biopsy slides and reports, if available. 

After the appointment is scheduled, your patient will receive a package containing a schedule of tests and appointments, along with the "UAB ILD Program New Patient Questionnaire," maps, and information on lodging in the Kirklin Clinic area.  After the clinic visit and once all data has been reviewed, including any prior biopsies, you will receive either a letter from one of our physicians or a copy the patient's clinic visit note.

Clinical Trials

The UAB ILD Center offers clinical trial enrollment for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other forms of diffuse parenchymal lung disease as part of a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to treatment. Please call Ms. Melessia Wells at 205- 975-9332 for more information.

A Quick Response After A Positive Test For A Bacterial Lung Infection

I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017 and subsequently received a bilateral lung transplant in July 2021. With IPF, whether you're pre- or post-transplant, one of the things you learn quickly is that the growth of bacteria in the lungs can be deadly.

My journey has involved regular bronchoscopies, during which doctors conduct a bronchoalveolar lavage to take a sampling of my lower respiratory tract. During this procedure, a small amount (5 mL) of saline is released into the lungs and then collected and monitored for bacterial growth.

This practice was used during my most recent bronchoscopy on Jan. 24. The difference this time was that the culture produced an unwanted result.

I received an email from my care team that opened with the following sentence: "Your last bronchoscopy was positive for Klebsiella oxytoca/Raoultella ornithinolytica (only one colony so very light growth)."

You have my attention

That was a first for me. None of my previous lavages produced positive results. Within minutes, I was researching these bacteria and how the infection is treated.

A word of caution when conducting your own research: Seek out reputable sources of information. What I write here for you each week is my perspective as a patient, though every factual statement in my columns is tied to a reliable source.

When I began researching Klebsiella oxytoca/Raoultella ornithinolytica, I made sure to focus on reputable, peer-viewed publications.

First, I learned that R. Ornithinolytica was initially classified as Klebsiella ornithinolytica, and later reclassified when the genus Raoultella was created in 2001. Although K. Oxytoca and R. Ornithinolytica are distinct types of bacteria, they share similarities, with the latter sometimes misidentified as the former. I decided to focus my research efforts on K. Oxytoca, which was listed first in my results.

A 2016 article published in the Medical Journal Armed Forces India notes, "Klebsiella oxytoca is emerging as an important bacterial isolate causing hospital-acquired infection in adults and having multiple drug resistance to commonly used antibiotics."

That's a lot of information in a single sentence, but "hospital-acquired infection" caught my attention immediately. I want to be clear that this alert is in no way a criticism of any part of the health system. In fact, it's just the opposite. My care team looks for a variety of indicators with each lavage sample they collect. As soon as the culture began to show signs of bacteria, they addressed the issue.

I also was concerned to read that this type of bacteria has a "multiple drug resistance to commonly used antibiotics." Over the course of my IPF journey, the only antibiotic I have used is amoxicillin, primarily before dental procedures. To treat my bacterial lung infection, my care team prescribed Augmentin (amoxicillin and clavulanate).

According to the National Library of Medicine's DailyMed database, Augmentin "should be used only to treat infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by susceptible bacteria." This medication was prescribed to me as one tablet (containing 875 mg of amoxicillin and 125 mg of clavulanate) that I'd take twice daily for 10 days.

What is the risk?

K. Oxytoca is not spread through the air. As I mentioned, it's often spread in healthcare settings, where IPF and post-transplant patients tend to spend a lot of time. Coupled with the level of immune suppression a post-transplant patient requires, this bacterium can be particularly troublesome for our community — and it's not the only invader that can cause problems. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cytomegalovirus, and aspergillus also pose a significant risk to lung disease patients.

Quickly identifying the bacterial lung infection gave my care team time to reduce the threat. They decided to treat me with antibiotics because they knew that my wife, Susan, and I plan to leave next month for our first international trip since 2019. We will fly to Amsterdam and board the AmaLucia river-cruise ship to see the tulips bloom.

Sharing my journey with you is how I can make every breath count.

Note: Pulmonary Fibrosis News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Pulmonary Fibrosis News or its parent company, BioNews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to pulmonary fibrosis.

RS BIOTHERAPEUTICS CREATES THERAPEUTIC EXPERT COUNCIL TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE...

(MENAFN- Dresner Corporate Services ) CUMBERLAND, Md. – February 21, 2024 – RS BioTherapeutics, whose mission is to develop life-changing medicines for the millions of people suffering from diseases characterized by pulmonary inflammation, is pleased to announce the formation of its Therapeutic Expert Council (TEC). The TEC will help guide the development of RS BioTherapeutics' first-in-class, steroid-free agent, RSBT-001, in development for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the third leading cause of death in the world; and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a rare disease with no cure that claims 40,000 lives each year in the U.S.The TEC is chaired by RS BioTherapeutics' Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michelle L. Shuffett and includes the following renowned pulmonary experts (in alphabetical order):• Antonio R. Anzueto, M.D., is Professor of Pulmonary/Critical Care in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health, San Antonio and Chief in the Pulmonary Section at The South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital Division in San Antonio• Bartolome R. Celli, M.D., is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the COPD Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass.• Christopher B. Cooper, M.D., M.S., Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA• Courtney Crim, M.D., is COPD360 Medical Director for the COPD Foundation and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill• David Halpin, M.D., is a Consultant Physician and Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Exeter, and Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) in Singapore• MeiLan K. Han, M.D., M.S., is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan Health• Bethany Moore, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized Pulmonary Disease Researcher and Tenured Professor at the University of Michigan• Stephen Rennard, M.D., is a Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center• Sanjay Sethi, M.D., is Professor of Medicine at the University of Buffalo (UB), SUNY, where he is Chief of the Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Medicine Division, Assistant Vice President for Health Sciences, Director of the Clinical Research Office, and Deputy Director of the UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Commenting on the formation of the TEC and its member appointments, Dr. Shuffett said, "On behalf of the entire RS BioTherapeutics' leadership team, I am honored to welcome this incredible group of pulmonary experts to our Therapeutic Expert Council. All have exceptional credentials and are uniquely qualified to help support the development of our first investigational compound, RSBT-001. I'm excited to collaborate with them and look forward to engaging their diverse perspectives spanning the fields of COPD, IPF, and other diseases characterized by pulmonary inflammation."

Additional credentials for RS BioTherapeutics TEC members can be viewed online at

About RS BioTherapeuticsThe mission of RS BioTherapeutics is to develop life-changing medicines for the millions of people suffering from diseases characterized by pulmonary inflammation. RS BioTherapeutics is developing a first-in-class, steroid-free, multi-targeted immune modulator (RSBT-001) for the treatment of respiratory diseases characterized by pulmonary inflammation, with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) targeted as first indications. RS BioTherapeutics owns the exclusive, global license for RSBT-001 and is projecting filing an Investigational New Drug Application for

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