• Cough persisting beyond three weeks with or without sputum
• Breathlessness on mild exertion or while lying flat
• Chest tightness, wheeze or noisy breathing
• Coughing up blood or blood-stained sputum
• Fever with cough not responding to standard treatment
• Snoring, gasping during sleep or unrefreshed mornings
• Weight loss and night sweats with respiratory symptoms
• Exposure to paddy dust, chemicals or biomass smoke
• Worsening breathlessness after a COVID-19 infection
• Chronic smoker with increasing cough or breathlessness

Lung Conditions Treated at Kamineni Hospitals, Vijayawada

Lung conditions treated at the best lungs hospital in Vijayawada include the following: 

Obstructive Airway Diseases

• Asthma: Episodic wheeze and breathlessness from inflamed airways.
• COPD: Irreversible airflow obstruction from smoking or biomass fuel exposure.
• Bronchiectasis: Dilated infected airways causing persistent cough and sputum.
• ABPA: Allergic fungal airway disease in patients with asthma.

Lung Infections — High Burden in Andhra Pradesh

• Pneumonia: Community and hospital-acquired pneumonia requiring inpatient or outpatient management.
• Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Active TB and drug-resistant TB managed with standard and second-line regimens.
• Lung Abscess: Localised pus collection in the lung from infection, requiring antibiotic and drainage management.
• Fungal Lung Infections: Aspergillosis, mucormycosis and other fungal infections in immunocompromised patients.
• Post-Infectious Lung Fibrosis: Scar tissue in the lungs following TB, COVID-19 or severe pneumonia.

Interstitial and Inflammatory Conditions

• Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD): Lung fibrosis and scarring evaluated with HRCT and managed with specialist therapy.
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis: Inflammatory lung reaction from occupational or environmental antigen exposure.
• Sarcoidosis: Multi-system granuloma condition with lung involvement.

Pleural Conditions

• Pleural Effusion: Fluid around the lung from infection, malignancy or heart failure.
• Empyema: Pus in the pleural space requiring drainage and antibiotic treatment.
• Pneumothorax: Collapsed lung managed with drainage or conservative care.

Critical and Advanced Conditions

• Respiratory Failure: Acute or chronic failure managed with oxygen, NIV or mechanical ventilation.
• ARDS: Severe bilateral lung failure requiring ICU-level respiratory support.
• Lung Cancer: Lung mass evaluated and referred for oncology coordination.
• Pulmonary Hypertension: Elevated pulmonary artery pressure causing breathlessness and right heart strain.

Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep managed with CPAP therapy.
• Hypoventilation Syndromes: Reduced breathing effort during sleep in selected patients.
  
  

Pulmonology Services at Kamineni Hospitals, Vijayawada

Bronchoscopy

Airway camera procedure for BAL sampling, biopsy, sputum collection and evaluation of haemoptysis or unresolved lung consolidation.

Pulmonary Function Testing

Spirometry, peak flow and PFT to assess airflow obstruction, lung capacity and response to bronchodilators for asthma and COPD management.

Pleural Procedures

Diagnostic and therapeutic thoracocentesis for pleural effusion and empyema, and intercostal chest drain insertion for pneumothorax and complex pleural collections.

Oxygen and Ventilatory Support

Long-term oxygen therapy for hypoxic COPD and ILD patients, NIV for chronic respiratory failure and CPAP/BiPAP for sleep apnea, managed by the pulmonology team.

TB and Infection Management

Structured evaluation and treatment for pulmonary TB, drug-resistant TB, lung abscess and fungal lung infections including antifungal therapy for aspergillosis and mucormycosis.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Graded exercise, breathing retraining and self-management education for COPD, post-TB lung damage and post-COVID respiratory recovery.

Diagnostic Tests Available

• Chest X-Ray: infection, consolidation, effusion and mass detection
• CT Chest with HRCT: ILD, bronchiectasis, TB complications and lung cancer
• Spirometry and PFT: obstructive and restrictive pattern assessment
• ABG: oxygen, CO2 and acid-base status in respiratory failure
• Sputum AFB and Culture: TB and drug-resistant TB diagnosis
• Bronchoscopy with BAL: lower airway sampling for infection and malignancy
• Pleural fluid analysis: exudate versus transudate, infection and cytology
• Sleep study: breathing pattern and oxygen levels during sleep
• KOH and fungal culture: aspergillosis and mucormycosis workup
• CBNAAT / GeneXpert: rapid molecular TB diagnosis