Breathing difficulties in children are among the most frightening things a parent can witness, and among the most common reasons children are brought to hospital. A child who is wheezing, coughing persistently, or struggling to breathe during what should be a simple chest infection deserves more than a standard treatment protocol applied without thought. Children's lungs are different from adult lungs, their respiratory conditions have different patterns and different causes, and managing them well requires a specialist who understands those differences.
The Paediatric Pulmonology service at KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura provides specialist assessment and management of respiratory conditions in children from infancy through to adolescence. Our team diagnoses and manages the full spectrum of childhood lung and airway conditions, from common conditions like asthma to rare and complex disorders requiring advanced investigation and long-term specialist management.
Why Children's Respiratory Conditions Need Specialist Attention
The respiratory system in children is still developing, and conditions that affect the lungs in childhood can have consequences for lung function and respiratory health that extend into adult life. Asthma that is poorly managed in childhood leads to more severe disease in adulthood. Recurrent chest infections that go uninvestigated may be masking an underlying structural or immunological problem. Chronic cough that is attributed to repeated viral infections may actually reflect an undiagnosed condition that is entirely treatable with the right assessment.
A paediatric pulmonologist brings specialist expertise in childhood respiratory physiology, paediatric-specific investigation techniques, and the clinical experience to distinguish common and benign respiratory presentations from those that warrant further investigation and specific management.
Conditions We Manage
Our paediatric pulmonology team at KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura manages the full range of childhood respiratory conditions:
Asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory condition in childhood and one of the most frequently mismanaged. Children with asthma experience episodes of airway narrowing triggered by allergens, infections, exercise, cold air, and other environmental factors, producing wheeze, cough, and breathlessness that vary in severity between episodes. Our team assesses the severity and pattern of asthma, identifies individual triggers, and builds a personalised management plan that includes appropriate preventive treatment, an action plan for acute episodes, and regular review to adjust management as the child grows.
For children with poorly controlled asthma despite appropriate treatment, further investigation is undertaken to identify whether additional factors including allergic sensitisation, structural airway abnormalities, or alternative diagnoses are contributing to the difficulty in control.
Chronic and recurrent cough
A cough that persists for more than four weeks in a child, or that keeps recurring throughout the year, requires systematic evaluation. The causes of chronic cough in children are distinct from adults and include protracted bacterial bronchitis, tracheomalacia, airway hyperresponsiveness, and upper airway causes including post-nasal drip and sinusitis. Our team uses a structured diagnostic approach to identify the underlying cause and provide targeted treatment rather than repeated empirical courses of antibiotics or cough suppressants.
Recurrent and persistent pneumonia
A child who has had two or more episodes of pneumonia, or who has a pneumonia that is slow to resolve, requires investigation for underlying predisposing factors. These may include structural lung abnormalities, aspiration due to swallowing difficulties, immunodeficiency, or foreign body inhalation. Identifying the cause is what allows the cycle of recurrent infection to be broken.
Bronchiolitis and viral wheeze in infants
Bronchiolitis, caused most commonly by respiratory syncytial virus, is the most common serious respiratory illness in infancy and a significant cause of hospital admission in children under one year. Our team manages acute bronchiolitis and provides guidance on the risk of subsequent viral wheeze and the relationship between early viral lower respiratory infections and later asthma development.
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition affecting the lungs, digestive system, and other organs, causing progressive lung damage through recurrent infection and inflammation. Management is complex and requires a multidisciplinary team covering respiratory, nutritional, gastrointestinal, and psychosocial aspects of the condition. Our team provides structured cystic fibrosis care in coordination with the relevant subspecialties at KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura.
Tuberculosis in children
Childhood tuberculosis presents differently from adult disease and is frequently underdiagnosed. Primary pulmonary TB in children may cause minimal symptoms and be identified only through contact tracing or incidental imaging. Our team manages both pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB in children with the specific diagnostic and treatment approaches appropriate for the paediatric age group.
Sleep-related breathing disorders
Obstructive sleep apnoea in children, most commonly caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids, disrupts sleep quality, affects behaviour and school performance, and in severe cases impairs growth and cardiovascular health. Our team assesses sleep-related breathing concerns and coordinates with ENT surgery where adenotonsillectomy is the appropriate primary treatment.
Lung malformations and structural airway abnormalities
Congenital lung malformations including congenital pulmonary airway malformations and bronchogenic cysts require specialist assessment and in many cases surgical management. Airway abnormalities including tracheomalacia, bronchomalacia, and subglottic stenosis cause recurrent respiratory symptoms and require accurate diagnosis through bronchoscopy and appropriate management.
Diagnostic and Procedural Capabilities
Our paediatric pulmonology service at KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura has access to a full range of diagnostic tools and procedures:
- Pulmonary function testing, including spirometry and infant lung function testing, to assess airway obstruction and response to bronchodilators
- Fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurement for assessment of eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma
- Flexible bronchoscopy for direct visualisation of the airways, bronchoalveolar lavage, and biopsy of airway tissue
- Rigid bronchoscopy and foreign body removal under general anaesthesia, performed with our paediatric surgical and anaesthesia teams
- Chest imaging interpretation including chest X-ray and high-resolution CT of the lungs
- Allergy testing and assessment of allergic sensitisation contributing to respiratory disease
- Sleep studies for assessment of sleep-disordered breathing
Why Choose KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura
Paediatric respiratory care is most effective when it is delivered by a team that combines specialist pulmonology expertise with access to the full range of supporting services that complex respiratory conditions require. At KIMS Cuddles at KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura, our pulmonology team works alongside the PICU, paediatric surgery, ENT, allergy, and infectious diseases teams, ensuring that multidisciplinary management is available for every child whose respiratory condition requires it.
Specialist child respiratory treatment near to home lowers the disruption of treating diseases that typically require regular follow-up and in some cases acute hospital hospitalisations for families in East Bengaluru, Whitefield and Marathahalli.
Schedule a Consultation
If your child has persistent or recurrent respiratory problems or symptoms that are not responding, our paediatric pulmonology specialists at KIMS Cuddles, KIMS Hospitals, Mahadevapura can help you. Call us or book an appointment online.
