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The Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center at Duke University (Durham, NC, United States)

The Duke Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center at Duke University (DAAAC)
(Durham, NC, United States)

 

Mission Statement

The Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center delivers extraordinary and personalized care for patients with allergic, airway and immunologic disease; provides access to cutting edge clinical trials; trains the next generation of airway, allergy and immunology specialists; and delivers equitable care to the population of North Carolina and beyond.

 

Overview

The Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center (DAAAC) is located in Durham, North Carolina. The clinic relocated in 2013 with the intent of bringing the clinical and research organizations within the same building to facilitate access to cutting edge trials for patients who suffered from asthma. The center is a 13,000 square foot facility which houses 26 examination rooms, 4 complete pulmonary function laboratories and dedicated research space.

 

Clinical Program

The Asthma Program is led by co-directors Dr. Amber Oberle, MD and Dr. Loretta Que, MD. The center is supported by core clinical faculty in pulmonary, allergy and immunology. The clinic offers a number of diagnostic tests related to airways disease including spirometry, lung volumes, diffusion capacity, pre-post bronchodilator testing, methacholine challenge, mannitol challenge and fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing. Specialty testing by our allergists includes skin testing, penicillin challenge, aspirin challenge and desensitization. Additional diagnostic testing is performed at off site locations which include cardiopulmonary exercise testing and post exercise laryngoscopy.

The DAAAC offers a breadth of collaborations with specialists spanning different divisions and departments. This is one of the core strengths of the program and offers patients subspecialty expertise in the following areas:

• Otolaryngology
• Gastroenterology
• Cardiology/Sports Medicine/Exercise Physiology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Metabolic and Weight loss Center

 

Research Program

The DAAAC is a state-of-the-art research center and serves as the site for translational and clinical research in asthma, allergic diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The center was developed to serve as a hub for patient-centered asthma and airway research efforts, with a goal of better understanding airway and allergic diseases and evaluating new therapies to ultimately improve patients’ lives.

Recruitment, enrollment and clinical phenotyping of patients for research studies and clinical trials are performed at DAAAC by Asthma Program investigators. Basic/translational, observational studies and clinical trials are included as part of the research portfolio of the Asthma team investigators.

For a list of actively enrolling studies in asthma, please visit the following website: https://medicine.duke.edu/divisions/pulmonary-allergy-and-critical-care-medicine/research/clinical-research/asthma-clinical-trials

 

Education

The DAAAC is an integral part of the Internal Medicine Residency, Pulmonary Fellowship and Pediatric-Allergy and Immunology programs. All pulmonary fellows participate in one half-day clinic every other week in general pulmonary medicine at the Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center as part of the three years of clinical training. Advanced pulmonary clinical fellows in their third and final year, who seek careers in clinical practice, have the opportunity to complete a 6-12 month rotation in our Asthma Program under the supervision of Dr. Amber Oberle. The center’s faculty are dedicated towards educating the next generation of pulmonary, allergy and immunology providers.

 

Advocacy

The Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center is dedicated to providing equitable and inclusive healthcare to all patients and is a core mission of this program. As part of our core group, Dr. Isaretta Riley, MD MPH carries of wealth of experience as she focuses intently on health services research to promote health justice and minimize health disparities in the most vulnerable populations. She is an integral member of the Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center and provides valuable insights and recommendations to inform our High Value Care model within the program and center.

Our High Value Care model seeks to identify asthma and COPD patients who experience multiple emergency room visits, urgent care visits or hospitalizations within the healthcare system and provides timely access with an airways specialist. As a part of this program, we are supported by an Asthma Navigator and two well-trained advanced practice providers. These efforts have allowed us to expand our reach to our most vulnerable patients who may not otherwise seek specialty care and provides a mechanism of timely access to specialists within our center.