Respire Domain Ontology

This page lists the controlled vocabulary used across respireairwayclinics.com. Each term is a domain concept (condition, procedure, therapy or specialty) anchored to Wikipedia and Wikidata for unambiguous machine interpretation. Search engines and large language models use these anchors to place our content within the global medical knowledge graph.

The same vocabulary is published as machine-readable JSON-LD at /dataset/ontology.json.

Specialties

The four medical specialties our integrated airway clinic covers.

Pulmonology — Pulmonary medicine, Respiratory medicine, Chest medicine: Branch of medicine concerned with the respiratory system — lungs, airways, and breathing disorders. The Breathe pillar at Respire.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Interventional Pulmonology: Pulmonology subspecialty using minimally invasive procedures (bronchoscopy, EBUS, airway stenting, pleural procedures) to diagnose and treat complex airway and lung disease.; Wikipedia ↗
Otolaryngology — ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat), ENT medicine: Ear, nose, and throat surgical specialty. Covers sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, deviated septum, nasal polyps, ear disorders, and upper-airway sleep disorders. The ENT pillar at Respire.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Sleep Medicine: Medical specialty focused on diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders — sleep apnea, insomnia, parasomnias. Often integrated with pulmonology and ENT for airway-related sleep disease.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗

Conditions

Diseases and disorders we diagnose and manage.

Asthma — Bronchial asthma, Allergic asthma, Severe asthma: Chronic inflammatory disease of the airways causing wheeze, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Triggers include allergens, exercise, infections, cold air and irritants. Diagnosed with spirometry; managed with inhaled corticosteroids, bronchodilators and biologics for severe forms.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — COPD, Chronic bronchitis, Emphysema: Progressive lung disease characterized by airflow limitation, usually caused by long-term smoking or exposure to dust, fumes or biomass smoke. Manifests as breathlessness, chronic cough and sputum. Diagnosed with post-bronchodilator spirometry; managed with bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, pulmonary rehabilitation and oxygen therapy.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Chronic Cough: Cough lasting more than 8 weeks. Most common causes are upper-airway cough syndrome (post-nasal drip from sinusitis or allergic rhinitis), asthma (sometimes without wheeze), and gastroesophageal reflux. Less common but important causes include lung infections, interstitial lung disease and lung cancer.; Wikipedia ↗
Lung Cancer — Pulmonary carcinoma, Bronchogenic carcinoma: Malignant tumor of lung tissue, most often arising from bronchial epithelium. Strong association with tobacco smoke and occupational dust exposure. Early-stage cancer is curable; low-dose CT screening detects small nodules before symptoms.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Tobacco Smoking — Cigarette smoking, Nicotine dependence: Chronic addiction to nicotine in tobacco products, the leading preventable cause of COPD, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Treated with structured cessation programs combining counselling, nicotine replacement therapy and pharmacotherapy (varenicline, bupropion).; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Sinusitis — Rhinosinusitis, Sinus infection: Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, presenting as facial pressure, nasal congestion, post-nasal drip and reduced sense of smell. Acute sinusitis usually follows a cold; chronic rhinosinusitis lasts more than 12 weeks and may require imaging, allergy testing and endoscopic sinus surgery.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Allergic Rhinitis — Hay fever, Allergic nasal disease: IgE-mediated inflammation of the nasal mucosa caused by aeroallergens (dust mites, pollen, animal dander, mould). Symptoms include sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal itch and obstruction. Strong link to asthma (united-airways concept). Treated with intranasal corticosteroids, antihistamines and allergen immunotherapy.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Deviated Nasal Septum — Deviated septum, Septal deviation, DNS: Displacement of the nasal septum from the midline causing unilateral or bilateral nasal obstruction, sinus problems, mouth breathing and sleep-related airway issues. May be congenital or post-traumatic. Treated surgically with septoplasty when symptomatic.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Nasal Polyps: Soft, painless, noncancerous growths on the lining of the nasal passages or sinuses, often associated with chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma and aspirin sensitivity. Cause nasal obstruction, anosmia and recurrent sinus infections. Treated with intranasal corticosteroids, biologics and endoscopic polypectomy.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Ear Disorders — Otologic conditions: Spectrum of conditions affecting the external, middle and inner ear including otitis media, otitis externa, hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular disorders. Diagnosed with otoscopy, tympanometry and audiometry.; Wikipedia ↗
Sleep Apnea — Obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, Sleep-disordered breathing: Disorder characterized by repeated cessation of breathing during sleep due to upper-airway collapse (obstructive) or impaired respiratory drive (central). Causes loud snoring, witnessed apneas, daytime sleepiness, hypertension and increased cardiovascular risk. Diagnosed by polysomnography or home sleep test; treated with CPAP, oral appliances or upper-airway surgery.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Snoring: Vibration of upper-airway soft tissues during sleep producing audible sound. Simple snoring is benign; loud or witnessed-apnea snoring may indicate obstructive sleep apnea and warrants a sleep study.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Insomnia — Insomnia disorder, Chronic insomnia: Persistent difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, or non-restorative sleep despite adequate opportunity, with associated daytime impairment. Treated with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), sleep hygiene and selective short-term pharmacotherapy.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗

Procedures

Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed at our clinics.

Spirometry: Pulmonary function test measuring volume and flow of air during forced expiration and inspiration. The cornerstone test for diagnosing and grading asthma and COPD. Includes pre- and post-bronchodilator measurement to assess airway reversibility.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Bronchoscopy — Flexible bronchoscopy, Fibreoptic bronchoscopy: Endoscopic procedure passing a flexible camera through the nose or mouth into the airways to inspect, lavage, biopsy or therapeutically intervene. Used for unexplained cough, hemoptysis, suspected infection, foreign body removal and lung cancer diagnosis.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Rigid Bronchoscopy: Bronchoscopy performed with a rigid metal scope under general anaesthesia. Reserved for complex airway interventions: tumour debulking, airway stenting, foreign body extraction, massive hemoptysis control and pediatric airway emergencies.; Wikipedia ↗
Endobronchial Ultrasound — EBUS, EBUS-TBNA, Linear EBUS, Radial EBUS: Bronchoscopy with an integrated ultrasound probe. Linear (convex) EBUS samples mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes via transbronchial needle aspiration; radial EBUS reaches peripheral lung nodules. Critical for lung cancer staging and tuberculosis diagnosis without surgical thoracotomy.; Wikipedia ↗
Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery — FESS, Endoscopic sinus surgery: Minimally invasive endoscopic surgery to restore sinus drainage and ventilation. Indicated for chronic rhinosinusitis with or without polyps, fungal sinusitis and recurrent acute sinusitis refractory to medical therapy.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Septoplasty: Surgical correction of a deviated nasal septum, usually performed endoscopically. Restores airflow, reduces nasal obstruction and supports concurrent CPAP tolerance in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Polysomnography — Sleep study, PSG: Comprehensive overnight recording of EEG, EMG, EOG, ECG, airflow, respiratory effort and oxygen saturation during sleep. Gold-standard test for diagnosing sleep apnea, periodic limb movements and parasomnias.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Home Sleep Apnea Test — HSAT, Home sleep test, Out-of-centre sleep test: Limited-channel sleep study performed in the patient's home, recording airflow, oxygen saturation, heart rate and respiratory effort. Suitable for high-pretest-probability obstructive sleep apnea without significant comorbidity.; Wikipedia ↗
Sleep Apnea Surgery — Upper-airway surgery, UPPP, Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty: Surgical procedures targeting upper-airway obstruction in sleep-disordered breathing. Includes uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), tonsillectomy, septoplasty and turbinate reduction. Considered when CPAP is not tolerated or anatomy favours surgical correction.; Wikipedia ↗
Low-Dose CT Lung Cancer Screening — LDCT screening, Lung screening: Annual low-radiation-dose computed tomography of the chest in high-risk individuals (typically age 50+ with significant smoking history) to detect early-stage lung cancer when curative treatment is possible.; Wikipedia ↗

Therapies

Long-term treatment programs.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy — CPAP, CPAP therapy, APAP, BiPAP, Auto-PAP: First-line treatment for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. A machine delivers pressurised air through a mask to keep the upper airway patent during sleep. Variants include APAP (auto-titrating) and BiPAP (bi-level) for specific indications.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Smoking Cessation Therapy — Tobacco cessation, Quit-smoking program: Structured intervention combining behavioural counselling with pharmacotherapy — nicotine replacement (patches, gum, lozenges), varenicline or bupropion — to help patients stop tobacco use and prevent relapse.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Allergen Immunotherapy — Allergy shots, SLIT, Sublingual immunotherapy: Long-term treatment that desensitizes the immune system to specific allergens (dust mites, grass, animal dander) via subcutaneous injections or sublingual drops. Indicated for moderate-severe allergic rhinitis and selected asthma cases unresponsive to medication alone.; Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗
Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Multidisciplinary program combining supervised exercise training, education and behavioural support for patients with chronic lung disease. Improves exercise capacity, dyspnea and quality of life in COPD, interstitial lung disease and post-tuberculosis sequelae.; Wikipedia ↗