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Pulmononology

The Philippine Children’s Medical Center Section of Pulmonology is one of the leading centers for training, research and service in Pediatric Pulmonology in the country. It was established in July 1, 1987 with the primary mission of being the premiere center of excellence for pulmonary specialty care in children guided by dynamic programs and equipped with the state-of-the-art technology for institutional growth and development. A pioneer institution to offer fellowship training in pediatric pulmonology in the Philippines which was accredited by the Philippine College of Chest Physicians in 1987 and by the Philippine Academy of Pediatric Pulmonologists in 1993. To date, the section has produced more than 50 pediatric pulmonologists offering their services in the different parts of the country.

The 2-year fellowship training program in Pediatric Pulmonology provides a clinical education and training that is innovative, appropriate and responsive to the needs of the Filipino children with lung disease. The fellows in training are guided by 13 highly motivated and competent consultant staff with varied fields of expertise.

As part of the training program, the fellows rotate in the pulmonary diagnostic laboratory, where they perform pulmonary function test such as spirometry,impulse oscillometry, tidal breathing analysis and infant plethysmography with the assistance of the section’s highly skilled respiratory therapists. For invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy, percutaneous lung or intrathoracic tumor biopsy, senior fellows perform the procedure with the supervision of the pulmonology consultant. Procedures done with ultrasound or CT scan guidance are done in conjunction with the Department of Radiology. Trainees collaborate closely with other pediatric subspecialties particularly pediatric intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, radiology, ENT, and TCVS. Recently, the use of Point Of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) to aid in the diagnosis of different lung and pleural diseases was added to our program.

The fellowship training program also include pulmonary rehabilitation program which is a multidisciplinary program that aims to promote a comprehensive care to a child whose lung function is adversely affected by the disease. Recently, Chronic Lung Disease Clinic was established which aims to diagnose, treat and improve the quality of life of children with chronic lung diseases.

Our section is committed in producing researches that are at par with international standards. Several past researches have been presented and published in both local and foreign conventions and publications. Fellows are required to submit a completed research at the end of their training. This is presented during the hospital annual research forum and in both local and international conferences.

As we cope through the changing times, we continue to develop and strengthen our programs to address the need of every Filipino child with lung disease.