Welcome to the Division of Pulmonary Medicine of the Department of Internal Medicine

• We provide comprehensive clinical care for patients with illnesses that affect the lungs and breathing in both the outpatient and hospital settings.
• The Program of Respiratory Medicine at St. Luke’s International Hospital (SLIH) brings together leaders in all Departments or Divisions at SLIH to deliver advanced, multidisciplinary care for patients with a wide array of respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), interstitial lung disease, Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS), and lung cancer, while working closely with referring physicians to provide complete medical care for patients.
• We conduct not only postgraduate courses, and provide clinical education for resident and fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine, but also clinical research.

Outpatient Clinic

In 2007, our faculty managed 16,091 pulmonary care outpatient visits (last 3-year outpatient average; 17,338). SLIH is centrally-located hospital at Chuo-ku, Tokyo, so patients visit our division from around the country, even from abroad.


Oncology Center

The Division of Respiratory Medicine at SLIH provides diagnostic services and treatments to patients with mainly stage IIIB and IV malignant neoplasms of the lung. Also it offers a comprehensive range of innovative and integrated treatment options for patients who have been diagnosed with lung cancer. Furthermore, the division has worked closely with all Departments or Divisions in SLIH for the treatment of lung cancer.The Program provides patients with evaluation by a multidisciplinary team including specialists from thoracic surgery, radiology, nursing, pharmacy, and medical oncology. We are now managing a total of approximately 450 patients with lung cancer per year.

Bronchial asthma Clinic

Professional nurses will provide care with precise knowledge of bronchial asthma, inhalation therapy, inhaler technique, how to manage asthma attack gradually.

Inpatient care

Special feature of the Division is that providing “Comprehensive and Multidisciplinary care for patients”.

The Division of Pulmonary Medicine provides attending and consultative service in the hospital settings for patients with a full range of pulmonary and critical care disorders. In 2007, our faculty managed 763 patients with pulmonary disease, including 203 cases of lung cancer, 105 cases of community-acquired pneumonia, 52 cases of Sleep Apnea Syndrome, 48 cases of bronchial asthma attack, 45 cases of acute exacerbation of COPD and chronic respiratory failure, and 32 cases of interstitial lung disease.
Services offered through the Pulmonary Medicine include:
Hospital inpatient services for evaluation and treatment of various lung conditions
Intensive care services for management and treatment of the critically ill
Sleep disorders evaluation and treatment
Bronchoscopic diagnosis and treatment

Treatment performance (cases, number of operations, etc)

Trends of hospitalized patient to our Division (cases)

2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
539	591	611	722	730	758

Breakdown of hospitalized patients

Jan/1/2007-Dec/31/2007
Diagnosis	Case
Lung cancer	203
Community-acquired pneumonia	105
Sleep Apnea Syndrome	52
Bronchial asthma attack	48
Aspiration pneumonia	44
Interstitial pneumonia	32
Chronic Respiratory Failure	24
Acute exacerbation of COPD	21
Acute bronchitis	11
Hemoptysis	10
Pleuritis	9
Pulmonary tuberculosis	8
Cancer other than lung cancer	7
Pneumothorax	6
Bronchiectasis	4
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria	4
Empyema of the chest	3
Mediastinal emphysema	2
Churg-Strauss syndrome	2
Thoracoscope	2
Pulmonary aspergillosis	2
Others	34
Total	763

Average length of the hospital stay

2002	18.1 days
2003	16.6 days
2004	16.0 days
2005	12.8 days
2006	13.9 days
2007	15.2 days
2008	13.2 days

Bronchoscopic diagnosis and treatment:180 cases/ year
Thoracoscopy 2~3 cases/year

Our staff

Naohiko Chohnabayashi, M.D., PhD

Chief, Division of Respiratory Medicine Medical Degree: Kobe University (1976) Board Certifications: Respiratory Medicine, Internal Medicine, Allergology, Infectious Disease, Respiratory Endoscopy Clinical Interests: Chronic Pulmonary Disease, Bronchial Asthma, Respiratory Failure, Management of Ventilator, Clinical management using Clitical pathway

Naoki Nishimura, M.D., PhD

Medical Degree: Tokushima University (1995) Board Certifications: Respiratory Medicine, Internal Medicine, Clinical Oncology Clinical Interests: Lung cancer, COPD, Bronchial Asthma

Noboru Uchiyama, M.D., M.P.H

Medical Degree: Saga Medical School (1999) MPH Degree: Harvard School of Public Health (2008) Board Certifications: Respiratory Medicine, Internal Medicine Clinical Interests: Respiratory infection, Critical Care, Sleep Apnea

Torahiko Jinta, M.D.

Medical Degree: Nagasaki University (1999) Board Certifications: Respiratory Medicine, Internal Medicine, Occupational Medicine Clinical Interests: Interstitial Lung Disease (Interstitial Pneumonia, etc)

Yutaka Tomishima, M.D.

Medical Degree: Nagoya University (2000) Clinical Interests: General Pulmonary Medicine, Sarcoidosis

Sayaka Yamao, M.D.

Medical Degree: Tohoku University (2004) Clinical Interests: General Pulmonary Medicine

Rika Suda, M.D.

Medical Degree: Kyoto University (2005) Clinical Interests: General Pulmonary Medicine

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