Pulmonologist

A pulmonologist diagnoses and treats respiratory diseases.

Additional analyses and examinations (e.g. lung X-ray, spirometry, allergy testing) are required for evaluating the condition of the respiratory system.

The most common reasons for referring to a pulmonologist are:

• diagnosis and treatment of asthma (e.g. in the case of wheezing, coughing up phlegm, or difficulty breathing)
• diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g. long-term smokers, repeated bronchitis)
• acute respiratory tract infections (e.g. pneumonia)

Patients who wish to quit smoking or find out whether long-term smoking has caused lung damage should also refer to a pulmonologist. A pulmonologist should be contacted for testing and diagnosing asthma and the accompanying allergies and treating them. Most often, patients come to a pulmonologist’s appointment in the case of acute infections, long-term cough or shortness of breath, but also to rule out lung tumours and tuberculosis.