Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine

Critical care involves the care and treatment of individuals with severe, potentially life-threatening illnesses. It is often linked with pulmonary medicine because respiratory failure is a key risk factor for these patients. Most critical care patients reside in the Clinic’s intensive care unit (ICU).

At Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, an intensivist (a physician with special qualifications in critical care medicine) leads a multidisciplinary health care team in the care of critically ill patients. This program uses both innovative and established technologies in critical care and embraces the latest evidence-based practices in the treatment of critical care patients.

A special focus of the program is the attention given to methods of weaning patients from mechanical ventilation and helping family members cope with the dilemma of deciding whether or not and when to withdraw or withhold life support from a hopelessly sick patient.

Medical conditions our intensivists treat include the following:

• Acute liver failure
• Acute stroke
• COPD/emphysema
• Fulminant pneumonia
• Laryngeal stenosis
• Postoperative respiratory failure
• Sepsis
• Severe asthma

Potential Health Risks Related to Certain Sleep and Respiratory Care Devices

In June 2021, Philips initiated a voluntary recall for some devices used for treating breathing problems during sleep, such as sleep apnea, as well as night-time ventilators for patients with chronic respiratory failure. The recall applies to Philips Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-Level PAP), Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and mechanical ventilator devices.

These devices are being recalled because the foam used to make the devices less noisy (a polyester-based, polyurethane foam, also known as “PE-PUR foam”) may break down and cause particles or vapors (also known as volatile compounds) to be breathed in, or inhaled. While Philips has received no reports of serious illness, a very small number of people who used these devices in 2020 (about three out of every 10,000 people) described headache, sore throat, cough or sinus congestion that may be from the foam.

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center is acting quickly to replace affected devices throughout our hospital. Patients who use one of the impacted devices at home are instructed to register for repair or replacement with Philips.

• LHMC letter to patients

Teaching

Educating today’s aspiring physicians is something to which Lahey’s pulmonologists and intensivists remain highly dedicated. The Department of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine runs a 3-year fellowship program, affiliated with the Tufts Medical School, through which fellows are trained in the most pioneering treatments in areas such as critical care and interventional pulmonology. In addition, two, 1-year specialty fellowship programs are offered and provide advanced training in interventional pulmonology and sleep disorders.

Lahey pulmonologists are heavily involved in efforts to advance the professional knowledge of rigid bronchoscopy, a procedure during which a stainless steel viewing tube is used to examine the tissues of the airways and remove any tumors. Not only do they train their fellows in the technique, but they also teach yearly courses to doctors from throughout the United States and around the world. These classes provide information on the variety of therapies that can be performed through the rigid bronchoscope.

Fellowships

• Interventional Pulmonary Fellowship
• Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
• Sleep Medicine Fellowship

Research

Physicians from Lahey’s Department of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine are also actively engaged in a number of leading-edge research studies and clinical trials.