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Pulmonary and respiratory diseases

The Diseases
Inflammatory Diseases (e.g. Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis)

Pneumonia is an acute or chronic inflammation of the lung tissue. It can be caused by bacterial, fungal or viral infection and in rare cases through inhalation of toxic materials.

Increased risk of constracting pneumonia occurs in the very young and the elderly as well as in people with preexisting pulmonary diseases such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases) or pulmonary emphysema, compromised immunity such as in cases of HIV infection, or severe allergies.

Modern diagnosis and therapy methods have led to a dramatic reduction in the mortality rate for pneumonia; one of the HELIOS Group targets is to further reduce the mortality rate for pneumonia to levels below the average German mortality rate of 11.2%. 4,535 pneumonia patients were treated at all HELIOS hospitals last year. The mortality rate at the HELIOS hospitals was 9.4%, well below the forecasted figure.  

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer refers to the growth of any malignant tissue in any area of the lungs, e.g. bronchial carcinoma. Lung cancer is a very common disease. 8,670 patients with lung and trachea tumors were treated at the HELIOS hospitals in 2005.

Over 90% of men and 60% of women with lung cancer are or used to be smokers, the avergae age is 68 years and older.

In its early stages lung cancer is often asymptomatic. A chronic cough is an important sign, although it can also be caused by other illnesses such as chronic bronchitis. For this reason, the illness is often not detected until persistent coughing or coughing up of blood is noticed. Only a few lung cancer cases are identified by chance during a routine examination.

Lung cancers have a serious prognosis despite advances in modern treatments. Prevention is the best treatment, and thus it is advisable to avoid or cease smoking. Smoking significantly increases the risk of contracting this cancer.

Chronic Constriction of the Bronchi, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a catch-all term for a group of illnesses that are characterized by coughing, increased sputum and breathlessness during exercise. Typical illnesses in this group are chronic obstructive bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. Both clinical pictures are characterized by overriding expiration impairment. A common term for the main symptom of COPD is "smoker's cough", as 90% of all patients are smokers or have smoked. COPD can be described as a widespread disease due to its common occurrence; 3,046 cases of COPD or emphysema were treated at the HELIOS hospitals in 2005.

Pulmonary Vascular Diseases (Pulmonary Vascular Hypertension)

Pulmonary hypertension is a catch-all term for illnesses that are characterized by increasing in vascular resistance and subsequent increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary circulatory system with resultant weakness of the right ventricle of the heart. The patients suffer from severely restricted physical capacity, circulatory disorders and tiredness.

Other Pulmonary Diseases

Other relatively rare pulmonary diseases include pulmonary fibrosis and silicosis, which lead to restricted elasticity of the lung. However, diseases in the brain (e.g. of the respiratory center in the brain stem) or failure of the respiratory muscle system can lead to serious respiratory disorders. Therapy then consists of artificial respiration or respiratory support. The use of conservative respiration techniques (e.g. nose and face masks) now enable respiration without inserting a tube into the trachea.

Diagnosis and Therapy

The following methods are used for diagnosing pulmonary diseases in the specific HELIOS clinics

• Bronchoscopy
• Spirometry, lung function examination
• Ergospirometry
• X-ray
• Computer tomography
• PET positron emission tomography
• Punctures under ultrasound and CT
• Sleep laboratory
• Allergological skin tests
• Blood examinations (blood gases, tumor markers, antibodies)

Therapy:

• Prevention through avoidance of damage (giving up smoking, preventing allergies such as animal hair or pollen)
• Drugs (antibiotics, vasodilating or heart-relieving drugs, bronchodilating and anti-inflammatory drugs as a metered spray or aerosol)
• Operations, particularly on bronchus and lung tumors
• Artificial invasive and noninvasive respiration, home mechanical ventilation
• Therapy with oxygen