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ASTHMA SCREENINGS FOR THE POLISH COMMUNITY<br />
IN CHICAGO<br />
Dr. Anna Szpindor has been doing annual asthma screenings<br />
since 2001. Initially, these events took place at the Polish<br />
American Association,then at the PNA Headquarters<br />
and now at her office. Hundreds of participants had free<br />
spirometry and were provided with education materials<br />
about asthma and allergies.<br />
On Saturday, May 14, 2011, a day-long screening for asthma<br />
and COPD took place at the Polish National Alliance<br />
headquarters at 6100 N. Cicero in Chicago. More than<br />
140 participants had spirometry done and 80 were tested<br />
for congenital emphysema caused by alpha-1 antitrypsin<br />
(AAT) insufficiency/deficiency. The program took 14<br />
months to prepare and involved networking between 10<br />
different organizations.<br />
AAT testing<br />
Dr. Szpindor began screening for AAT insufficiency/deficiency<br />
since 2005. Since then, more than 800 individuals<br />
have been tested and at least 5% of those were found to be<br />
insufficient or deficient. These individuals then were able to<br />
get appropriate treatment as well as lifestyle management.<br />
IgG, M, A testing<br />
In addition to the AAT screening, free<br />
testing for immunodeficiency including<br />
immunoglobulin G, A, and M have been<br />
done during the last few years.<br />
Anti-inflammatory Workshops<br />
To teach patients how to decrease inflammation<br />
in the body, monthly anti-inflammatory<br />
workshops are held<br />
at Dr. Szpindor’s office in South Barrington.<br />
These workshops focus on lifestyle<br />
management and lifestyle changes<br />
that need to be pursued in order to decrease<br />
inflammation. The workshops are<br />
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