Overview

Overview

At Cleveland Clinic Asthma Center, we offer the most advanced diagnostic testing and innovative treatments for adults and children with asthma. Within Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute, the Asthma Center brings together physicians from allergy and immunology, pulmonary and critical care, and sports medicine (for asthma in elite athletes). For those with asthma and co-existing conditions, such as sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux, vocal cord dysfunction, cataracts, glaucoma or osteoporosis, we also coordinate your care with specialists in gastroenterology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, and speech therapy. Our integrated approach to patient care provides you with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services and opportunities to try new medications and therapies through clinical trials.

Services

We offer a full range of clinical services including:

  • Comprehensive consultation services and ongoing care for refractory asthma (poorly-controlled asthma)
  • Occupational and environmental asthma evaluation
  • Bronchoprovocation testing with methacholine and exercise
  • Testing for suspected sensitivity to foods, food additives, aspirin and allergens
  • Specialized testing to determine how well your asthma is being controlled
  • Treatment for asthma, including new and innovative therapies from injections to procedures
  • Treatment and direction for coexisting conditions that complicate asthma control
  • Initial management plans for newly diagnosed asthma cases and continued care when needed
  • Comprehensive patient education

Novel Diagnostic and Treatment Approaches

Our physicians have a particular expertise in refractory asthma, or poorly-controlled asthma. For patients with refractory asthma, the Asthma Center offers innovative diagnostic and treatment services that are at the forefront of asthma care including:

  • Measurement of inflammatory biomarkers in exhaled breath for patients not responding to therapies, and requiring high doses of corticosteroids
  • Bronchoscopic evaluation to identify potential chronic causes of asthma
  • Anti-IgE therapy (omalizumab or Xolair)
  • Anti-Interleukin-5 therapies (mepolizumab, reslizumab)
  • Bronchial thermoplasty, a new technique designed to reduce the contractility of airway smooth muscle by applying radiofrequency energy to airway walls
  • Aspirin desensitization to develop tolerance to aspirin and similar drugs for patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Make an Appointment

Request an appointment today with one of our asthma specialists. Call the Asthma Center at 216.444.0582 or toll-free 800.223.2273, ext. 40582.

Health Information

Health Information

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world, becoming more prevalent and more severe in recent years. Asthma causes the airways of the lungs (bronchial tubes) to narrow, the lining of the airways to swell, and the cells that line the airways to produce more mucus. These changes make breathing difficult and cause symptoms, such as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness and excess mucus production. Learn about symptoms, causes and triggers, diagnostic testing, treatments and management tips for asthma below.

Asthma Overview

Asthma Symptoms, Causes and Triggers

Asthma Testing

Asthma Treatment and Management

Using an Inhaler

Asthma in Special Populations

More Information

Doctors

Doctors

Research & Clinical Trials

Research & Clinical Trials

The Asthma Center is a forerunner in developing new treatments through clinical trials and conducting translational research that supports and enhances patient care.

Asthma Research & Clinical Trials

Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP)

Sponsored by the NHLBI, this multicenter, 36-month study is designed to evaluate the pathology of asthma longitudinally.

ELIGIBILITY: Individuals (6-65 years old) who have been clinically diagnosed with asthma and are prescribed oral corticosteroid or high-dose inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta agonist or other controller medication. Participants must demonstrate FEV1 bronchodilator reversibility ≥ 12% or airway hyper-responsiveness reflected by a methacholine PC20 ≤ 16 mg/mL. Exclusion criteria include smoking history > 10 pack years if ≥ 30 years of age, or smoking history > 5 pack years if < 30 years of age, and no smoking with the past year.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Serpil Erzurum, MD
STUDY COORDINATOR: Marybeth Boyle | 216.4451756

Functional Medicine In Asthma (FAst) Study

The objective of this study is to determine whether adding a functional medicine approach to standard guideline-based care for asthma is more effective than standard guideline-based care alone.

Functional Medicine In Asthma (FAst) Study brochure

ELIGIBILITY:  Inclusion Criteria include Women and men with ages >18 and <65; Nonsmokers or former smokers, with 15 pack-years or less history of smoking; Clinical history consistent with moderate to severe asthma; Measures of airflow obstruction and reactivity consistent with asthma (12% BD response and/or positive methacholine challenge test) historically or at initial/screening visit FEV1 between 40-100% predicted post bronchodilator; Uncontrolled Asthma  categorized  ACT ≤19);Willing to be seen in Asthma Center and willing to consider Functional Medicine approach as an add-on to Asthma Center care. Exclusion Criteria include Life threatening asthma; Any disorder, including but not limited to gastrointestinal, renal, neurological, infectious, endocrine, metabolic or other physical impairment, that is not stable in the opinion of the investigator; Clinically important pulmonary disease other than asthma; Controlled asthma defined by stability and  by ACT >19; Current asthma exacerbations; Stable lung function.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Sumita Khatri, MD, MS
STUDY COORDINATOR: JoAnne Baran-Smiley, BSN, RN | 216.444.5023

Recommended Research Readings

View helpful research publications on the topic of asthma below:

For Medical Professionals

For Medical Professionals

Patient Referrals

Following a patient evaluation at the Asthma Center, our team provides a timely, specialized report that includes our evaluation, test results and a proposed plan of care. Our specialists may assume care for patients or provide a treatment plan to you and the patient to carry out proposed recommendations.

Our secure online service, Dr.Connect, provides referring physicians access to patient’s treatment progress with streamlined communication from Cleveland Clinic physicians to your office, allowing continued participation in the ongoing care of patients. With the best possible treatment plans and coordinated care, our team approach benefits both the patient and the referring physician.

To refer a patient, call the Asthma Center at 216.444.0582 or the Bronchial Thermoplasty Referral Line at 216.445.6266.

Education

Allergy and Clinical Immunology Fellowships
Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute offers two fellowships in allergy/immunology each year. Fellows will gain experience working in a multi-specialty group practice setting, with a busy outpatient allergy/immunology practice and have the opportunity to do elective rotations in asthma, dermatology, otolaryngology, pulmonary and critical care, radiology, rheumatology, infectious diseases, and more.

Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowships
Our pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowships provide board-certified general internists with the tools necessary to care for patients, who have complicated lung diseases and critical illnesses. During the three-year training period, which includes an 18-month core program and 18-month subspecialty track, fellows are exposed to a wide variety of medical problems in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.

CMEs
The Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute offers continuing medical education courses through the Center for Continuing Education. Current CME offerings include:

References

Disease Management Project
Cleveland Clinic publishes an online medical reference, the Disease Management Project, which provides nationally-established treatment guidelines for the most common diseases and conditions

Web Resources