For Medical Professionals

The Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has a multidisciplinary team to address every aspect of your child’s health. Our specialists work as a coordinated team to provide comprehensive and continuous care from infancy throughout childhood.

Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program: Why Choose Us

We have the expansive and expert resources needed to help each child with neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) thrive. At CHLA, referring physicians, patients and families will receive:

• Expertise from a regional referral center: The Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU) at CHLA is the regional referral center for complex and challenging cases. We receive referrals from about 65 neonatal intensive care units in and out of state. We have a large NICCU staffed with experts from multiple specialties to address individual patient needs. Our team cares for newborns, infants and children.
• Rapid and smooth transport to NICCU: We work closely with the transport team to bring patients to our NICCU safely and quickly. We transfer emergent and nonemergent patients as soon as possible after referral.
• Specialized providers: Pulmonologists at our BPD Clinic have extensive experience in managing bronchopulmonary dysplasia. They care for patients with BPD in the NICCU, medical floors and the outpatient clinic. We are unique in having a gastroenterologist within the BPD clinic, as well as a feeding therapist and a dietitian.
• Advanced diagnostic tools: We offer airway evaluations both bedside and in operating room and often in conjunction with both ENT and pulmonary teams. Besides we are one of the few centers in the country offering both inpatient and outpatient infant sleep studies read by infant sleep experts. For any diagnostic tests, labs or imaging, we have a very accessible and straightforward process.
• Comprehensive and collaborative care: Our team ensures that children have the necessary support, from rehabilitation and respiratory therapy to nutrition, to achieve each developmental milestone. Our primary team works closely with other CHLA specialists and clinics as needed, such as pulmonary hypetension specialists or the Aerodigestive Program. We also provide compassionate support for the whole family through our nurse care managers, social workers and Child Life specialists.
• Long-term care: Our goal is to transition patients from the NICCU to the medical floor or outpatient care at our dedicated Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Clinic. This approach ensures children have continued access to the specialized care they need. Providers in the BPD Clinic work in tandem with the Newborn Follow-Up Program to provide ongoing care for high-risk infants.

Refer a Patient to the Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program

We welcome patient referrals to our inpatient and outpatient bronchopulmonary dysplasia services. If needed, we can help you determine if your patient would benefit from our care. We provide recommendations on the right time to transfer your patient and how to stabilize an infant.

To refer or transfer a patient to our NICCU, please call our Access and Transfer (Transport) Center at 888-631-2452. To refer a patient to the BPD Clinic, please call 323-361-2287.

Please see our referral instructions for more details about the process.

Second Opinions and Consultations

Our team offers second opinions and consultations to referring doctors and patient families. We make sure to keep referring doctors involved and informed throughout your patient’s care at CHLA.

We also happily discuss any questions you may have about neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia care. Our team has expertise in diagnosing and managing neonatal BPD, including:

• Feeding strategies
• Medication management
• Use of nitric oxide
• Ventilator strategies and weaning off support

BPD Research at Children’s Hospital

Our specialists continue to improve neonatal BPD care through innovative research and involvement with the BPD Collaborative. Learn more about our role in infant chronic lung disease research.

Infant Chronic Lung Disease Care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

We offer comprehensive and compassionate care for patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Learn more about our management of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.