Comprehensive Directory of Evaluated Respiratory & Chest Conditions
Obstructive sleep apnoea
Map Designation: Condition No. 1 on anatomical lung map (Airways & breathing).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: loud snoring, gasping at night, daytime sleepiness
Clinical Overview: The upper airway repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep, briefly interrupting breathing and breaking up sleep through the night.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Loud snoring with pauses in breathing
- Waking unrefreshed or with morning headaches
- Sleepiness during the day
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
Chronic cough & unexplained breathlessness
Map Designation: Condition No. 2 on anatomical lung map (Airways & breathing).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: a cough that won’t go away, getting breathless easily
Clinical Overview: A cough lasting more than three weeks, or breathlessness without a clear cause, needs a structured search for the reason — which may lie in the airways, the lung tissue, or elsewhere.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Cough lasting beyond three weeks
- Breathlessness on effort
- Coughing blood or weight loss needs prompt review
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Chest imaging review
- Flexible bronchoscopy when indicated
Tuberculosis
Map Designation: Condition No. 3 on anatomical lung map (Lung tissue & pleura).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: TB, persistent cough with fever and night sweats
Clinical Overview: A bacterial infection that most often affects the upper parts of the lungs. Healed TB can leave scars that show up on scans years later and may be mistaken for other problems.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Cough for more than two weeks
- Fever, night sweats and weight loss
- Coughing blood
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Bronchoscopy for sampling
- EBUS-TBNA when lymph nodes are involved
Post-COVID lung disease
Map Designation: Condition No. 4 on anatomical lung map (Lung tissue & pleura).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: breathlessness after COVID, lingering cough
Clinical Overview: Some people have breathlessness, cough or scan changes that persist for months after COVID-19, sometimes from inflammation or scarring in the lung tissue.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Breathlessness that hasn’t recovered
- Persistent dry cough
- Oxygen dropping on exertion
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Imaging follow-up
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
Bronchiectasis & recurrent haemoptysis
Map Designation: Condition No. 5 on anatomical lung map (Airways & breathing).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: daily phlegm, repeated chest infections, coughing blood
Clinical Overview: Airways become permanently widened and scarred, so mucus pools and infections keep returning. Bleeding from these airways can bring blood into the cough.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Daily cough with phlegm
- Repeated chest infections
- Blood-streaked sputum
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Flexible and rigid bronchoscopy
Academic Reference / Clinical Note: Dr. Roy co-authored a published case on bronchoscopic treatment of life-threatening haemoptysis (Respiration, 2017).
Pleural effusion
Map Designation: Condition No. 6 on anatomical lung map (Lung tissue & pleura).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: water on the lungs, fluid around the lung
Clinical Overview: Fluid collects between the lung and the chest wall and presses on the lung. Finding the cause — such as infection, TB or a tumour — matters as much as removing the fluid.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Breathlessness
- Chest heaviness or pain on breathing
- A shadow at the base on an X-ray
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Medical thoracoscopy
- Pleurodesis when fluid keeps returning
COPD & chronic bronchitis
Map Designation: Condition No. 7 on anatomical lung map (Airways & breathing).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: smoker’s cough, morning phlegm, slowly worsening breathlessness
Clinical Overview: Long-term damage to the airways and air sacs that limits airflow. In India it also affects people who have never smoked but were exposed to cooking-fire (biomass) smoke.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Breathlessness that slowly worsens
- Daily cough with phlegm
- Flare-ups with chest infections
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- COPD management
- Smoking cessation & pulmonary rehabilitation
Severe & difficult-to-control asthma
Map Designation: Condition No. 8 on anatomical lung map (Airways & breathing).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: wheezing, night-time breathlessness, inhalers not working
Clinical Overview: Asthma that stays uncontrolled despite regular inhalers. The airways are inflamed and their muscles tighten, narrowing the passage for air.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Wheeze and chest tightness
- Symptoms at night or early morning
- Frequent reliever use or attacks
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Allergy and asthma assessment
Lung masses & mediastinal lymphadenopathy
Map Designation: Condition No. 9 on anatomical lung map (Scans & diagnosis).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: a mass on X-ray, enlarged lymph nodes in the chest
Clinical Overview: Enlarged lymph nodes in the centre of the chest, or a mass in the lung, can come from TB, sarcoidosis, infection or cancer. A tissue sample is usually needed to tell them apart.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Found on an X-ray or CT scan
- Sometimes cough or weight loss
- Often no symptoms at all
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- EBUS-TBNA
- Transbronchial cryobiopsy
Lung nodules & abnormal CT findings
Map Designation: Condition No. 10 on anatomical lung map (Scans & diagnosis).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: a spot on a lung CT, a shadow on an X-ray
Clinical Overview: A small round spot seen on a scan. Most are harmless — in India, scars from old healed TB are common — but size, shape and change over time decide whether to watch, sample or treat.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Usually no symptoms
- Often found by chance on a scan
- Comparison with earlier scans helps
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- CT review and follow-up
- EBUS-TBNA or cryobiopsy if sampling is needed
Interstitial lung disease & pulmonary fibrosis
Map Designation: Condition No. 11 on anatomical lung map (Lung tissue & pleura).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: lung fibrosis, IPF, hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Clinical Overview: Inflammation and scarring make the lung tissue stiff, so oxygen passes into the blood less easily. Causes include IPF, autoimmune disease, and exposures such as birds or mould.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Dry cough
- Breathlessness on exertion
- Fine crackles heard at the lung bases
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- Transbronchial cryobiopsy
- Lung transplant evaluation for advanced disease
Respiratory failure & end-stage lung disease
Map Designation: Condition No. 12 on anatomical lung map (Advanced care).
Common Phrasing & Patient Description: on oxygen at home, very low oxygen, transplant evaluation
Clinical Overview: The lungs can no longer keep oxygen and carbon dioxide at safe levels. Advanced options include ECMO support in critical illness and, for selected patients, lung transplantation.
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Needing oxygen at rest
- Breathless with minimal activity
- Repeated hospital admissions
Diagnostic Evaluation & Treatment Pathway
- ECMO support
- Lung transplant evaluation
- Post-transplant care
