Paediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care

The Department of Paediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care at Amrita Hospital is the first Centre of Excellence in South India dedicated to the diagnosis and management of children with acute and chronic respiratory conditions and critically ill children needing organ support of various kinds. At the Amrita Paediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care Department and collaboration with departments of ENT, General Paediatrics, Paediatric Genetics and other paediatric subspecialties and surgical departments, we aim to provide a world class multi-disciplinary program dealing with every aspect of care for a critically ill child. The department will also give support to children needing long term oxygen, tracheostomy and children needing long term invasive and non-invasive ventilator support.
 
The clinical lead of the department is Dr. Sajith Kesavan, who brings his rich experience of having been trained in the best paediatric centres of the world like Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London and Sickkids, Toronto and Stollery Children’s Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Sajith Kesavan is one of the few paediatric critical care physicians in India who has also completed formal training in paediatric pulmonology from Canada. He is a subspecialty affiliate of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine. 
 

The department is well equipped with facilities for paediatric multi-organ support and critical care and also to evaluate children with respiratory problems with flexible bronchoscopy, pulmonary function testing, sweat chloride testing and sleep studies.

Advanced Diagnostic Studies 

Flexible bronchoscopy 

Sweat chloride 

Full paediatric pulmonary function test and exercise challenge testing 

Diagnostic sleep study and CPAP/BIPAP titration 

Collaborating with paediatric genetics for evaluation of rare lung diseases in children.   
 

Advanced Therapeutic Options 

CPAP and BIPAP support for inpatient and establishing on home NIV (noninvasive ventilation) 

Multidisciplinary care of children with cystic fibrosis 

Collaboration with interventional pulmonology for foreign body removal , lung biopsy, balloon dilatation etc 

Collaboration with paediatric surgery for treatment of children with congenital lung malformation 

Diseases Treated

• Wheezing in small children 
• Children with recurrent or chronic respiratory infections 
• Chronic cough in children 
• Cystic fibrosis and non CF bronchiectasis in children 
• Children needing organ support for multi organ dysfunction 
• Children with complex asthma or difficult to manage asthma 
• Conditions needing ventilator support in children 
• Pulmonary tuberculosis 
• Interstitial lung disease in children 
• Children with sleep disordered breathing 
• Children with systemic disease and pulmonary complications 
• Children with chronic respiratory failure for long term ventilator support 
• Hypo-ventilation syndromes in children 

Dr. Sajith Kesavan MD FNB (PICU) MRCPCH, Royal College of Canada subspecialty affiliate in Pediatric respirology, Senior consultant and Head, Paediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care 

Phone : +91 7994999347 

Email: paediatricpulmo@aims.amrita.edu, sajithkesavan@aims.amrita.