The following is a summary of the “Coordination of Care for Expiratory Central Airway Collapse: A Structured Process for a Multifaceted Disease,” published in the January 2023 issue of Chest by Hazelett, et al.

Expiratory central airway collapse (ECAC) may be the underlying cause of common respiratory symptoms like dyspnea, cough, sputum production, and recurrent infections. ECAC patients present unique challenges that call for a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment. 

The process requires a coordinator to achieve the best possible results for the patient. They detail how ECAC is diagnosed and how treatment is coordinated. The coordinator coordinates the efforts of the various departments and specialists involved in treating ECAC patients, such as those from pulmonary medicine, interventional pulmonology, radiology, thoracic surgery, and the hospital’s in-house medical staff. 

Care for patients with ECAC is coordinated by an ECAC coordinator who oversees all aspects of treatment, from initial screening to evaluation and management with airway stents and corrective treatment with tracheobronchoplasty.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012369222039137