Twila Martin, MBA, RRT, director of the Department of Respiratory Care at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, says respiratory therapists are licensed health professionals who provide care to patients with cardiopulmonary diseases, such as asthma, emphysema, infant prematurity, and trauma.

"The therapists work in a variety of settings including intensive care units, emergency departments, diagnostic labs, clinics, and in home care. And they work with infants, pediatrics, and adult services for patients. Respiratory therapists perform cardiopulmonary diagnostic tests, administer medications, assure lung inflation and airway hygiene, monitor cardiopulmonary physiology, perform CPR, and apply ventilatory life support technology," she says.

There are three divisions in the department:

• Clinical services-Primarily in the intensive care unit to critically ill patients. The staff also responds to code blue, rapid response, and trauma situations, and are part of the transport team. The patient populations range from premature infants through geriatrics.  
• Pulmonary diagnostic services- To both pediatric and adult patient populations and include pulmonary function and exercise testing, bronchoscopy, map studies in pediatrics, and non-invasive ventilator trials for neuromuscular patients  
• Hyperbaric medicine service

Martin says a bronchoscopy procedure involves the use of a flexible or rigid scope with a light source on the end of it to examine the lungs. A bronchoscopy is used to diagnose lung conditions such as cancer and infections. "Our physicians also perform interventional pulmonary procedures such as stent placements to hold open collapsing airways and laser procedures to obliterate tumors.

"A hyperbaric chamber looks like a submarine," says Martin. "The chamber is pressurized and this increases the amount of oxygen delivered to the blood and tissues. Examples of the effects of hyperbaric therapy include the increased oxygen supply to chronic non-healing wounds improves healing; and in carbon monoxide or CO poisoning, the increased pressure drives the CO off of the hemoglobin and allows the blood to transport oxygen. We treat all patient populations in our hyperbaric chamber."  

Martin says respiratory issues for pediatric patients different from adult issues. " In respiratory care, kids are definitely not small adults. In critical care, the methods of ventilation are different because of their size and the different disease processes. In the diagnostic services, techniques to measure and interrupt lung function vary from the adult population"

UI Hospitals and Clinics is involved in several research studies. "We're involved in two studies in our neonatal intensive care unit. One study is with premature infants and the study examines different techniques to reduce chronic lung disease. The other is in the study of different non-invasive techniques of life support.

"In our adult pulmonary interventional services, an example of a study is to place valves in specific airways of patients with chronic lung disease to treat symptoms and improve quality of life of patients that have chronic lung disease," says Martin.  

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