Services & Programs
Advanced Treatment Capabilities
The Division of Allergy & Immunology at CHAM is committed to helping our patients become symptom free and retain good quality of life. We identify the underlying causes of the condition affecting your child, eliminate the causes, and treat underlying immune abnormalities. The Clinical Immunology Center is a referral center used by pediatricians, internists and otolaryngologists in the tri-state region and nationally.
Asthma
As a partner with the Asthma Center at Montefiore, we work closely with a team of pulmonologists and pharmacy specialists in providing comprehensive asthma care. In addition, we are using novel biologicals (monoclonal antibodies) for severe forms of asthma that were previously poorly responsible to conventional therapeutic strategies.
Sinusitis
Chronic sinusitis is a challenging and often hard to treat condition. Our approach is multifaceted taking into consideration:
- Anatomical changes that are evaluated by our designated experts in otolaryngology
- Identifying environmental allergens that can be eliminated, designing immunotherapy protocols for treatment of environmental allergies and asthma.
Food Allergies
Food allergies are an increasing entity in the US and in other developed countries. It is most frequent in the pediatric age group but spans all ages. Food allergies have a significant impact on quality of life and may result in skin disorders, asthma, intestinal diseases and may cause life threatening reactions (anaphylaxis). The faculty has special expertise in this field, evaluating food allergens by blood tests and skin tests as well as by challenge tests. We provide treatment options and work with Nutritionists in designing dietary modifications. Novel treatments for desensitization (cure) of food allergies are also utilized.
Drug Allergies
Our program provides tests to diagnose reactions to specific drugs by skin testing, blood testing and challenge testing. We implement a regimen of rapid desensitization that allows the administration of life-saving drugs in patients who are allergic to them. A frequently employed example is the desensitization to aspirin in patients with heart conditions that require daily administration of aspirin. These procedures are done in a strictly supervised outpatient or inpatient setting.
Skin Conditions
These may include irritating itching (pruritus) with/without skin rashes, eczema, hives (urticaria), contact dermatitis, psoriasis and angioedema. We evaluate for systemic conditions that may be causative including food allergies, drug allergies and other chemical agents. We perform patch testing to identify culprit chemical agents that can be triggering symptoms. We have been designated by the National Angioedema Association as a center for angioedema, a disorder with often life-threatening skin and internal organ swellings.
Immunodeficiencies
We are one of the largest immunodeficiency centers. We recently built a new facility, including an infusion unit. This center has the expertise to utilize the most advanced treatments including gammaglobulin, enzyme replacement therapy, use of biologicals in the infusion unit and interact with the Pediatric Transplantation center at Children's Hospital at Montefiore. We are also building a new program for Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation. We are one of the regional Newborn Screening for Immunodefiencies, so that newborns/infants can be treated as early as possible with novel strategies to reinstate their immune system for a complete cure.
HIV/AIDS
The Division provides cutting edge treatment for children, adolescents and adults with HIV infections. It is the first Pediatric AIDS Center in the US and was involved in multiple research initiatives for HIV including immunotherapies, vaccines and anti-HIV drug trials.