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Asthma Care at Pacific Lung Health Centre
September 2006
The goal of the asthma clinic is to provide state-of-the-art asthma care including the evaluation of new therapies. Under the direction of Dr. Tony Bai at the Pacific Lung Health Centre, in collaboration with other physicians interested in asthma care, we are re-evaluating the way we care for patients with asthma. Currently we provide management for difficult asthma as well as evaluate patients in whom the diagnosis of asthma is uncertain. The model of patient care is a collaborative one with patient involvement in decision making.
Dr. Bai's special interest is in mechanisms of asthma, with a goal to more carefully define "subtypes" (phenotypes) of asthma. In addition, we hope to be able to more carefully estimate the minimal amount of therapy patients need by using tests such as exhaled breath analysis and induced sputum. We analyze in our research laboratory the cellular components of the mucous that asthmatics produce. Moreover, Dr. Bai hopes to modify the natural history of asthma using dietary modifications. These studies will require informed consent from interested parties, approved by the ethics boards of Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Bai holds an appointment as a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Respiratory Division, University of British Columbia. Dr. Bai is a member of the Canadian Thoracic Society Asthma Guidelines Committee. His collaborators include Dr. Robert Schellenberg in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and Dr. Lindsay Lawson. The clinic provides asthma education as well as skin testing for allergies. A research coordinator, Pat Mencke, will be involved in your care by administering questionnaires, and performing lung function testing, induced sputum, and exhaled breath analysis. Further information about asthma care can be obtained through the following links:
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St Paul's Hospital
8B Providence Wing
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6
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