Karen M. McDowell, MD
- Director, Pulmonary Function Lab
- Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- karen.mcdowell@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
Biography
I was inspired to be a pediatric pulmonologist while working on a summer research project during my first year of medical school. I love the physiology of the lungs and how they are affected by so many other body systems. Understanding respiratory diseases involves having a basic knowledge of infectious disease, ENT (ear, nose and throat), GI (gastrointestinal) and cardiology.
I adore working with children because they have a unique perspective and bring joy to life. One of the most rewarding aspects of being a doctor is helping parents understand their child’s breathing issues, how to help them get better and stay healthy from a pulmonary perspective.
As a pediatric pulmonologist, associate director of the Asthma Center and director of the Pulmonary Function Lab, I treat children and adolescents who have asthma, especially severe and difficult-to-treat asthma. I believe that patient care is a partnership — a treatment plan will be successful only if parents and the patient are engaged. Decisions about the best treatment for any patient requires patient and parent input and participation.
In my practice, we provide an in-depth and personalized approach to asthma with a multidisciplinary team of providers with asthma expertise, including respiratory therapists, nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists and dieticians. We individualize care by identifying individual asthma phenotypes and responses to medications.
I am also heavily involved in quality and process improvement. We are constantly striving to improve delivery of our care.
In my free time I can be found walking, playing with my dog, spending time with my family, doing crossword puzzles, cooking and reading. I love the mountains in the summer and a warm beach in the winter.
BS: College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 1983.
MS: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 1986.
MD: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 1990.
Residency: Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH.
Fellowship: Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH.
Certification: Pediatric Pulmonology, 1996.
Interests
Asthma; flexible bronchoscopy; general pediatric pulmonology; quality improvement methodologies; infant pulmonary function test
Services and Specialties
Pulmonary Medicine, Asthma, Home Ventilator, Pulmonary Function, Rare Lung Diseases
Interests
Clinical asthma research; quality improvement methodologies; infant pulmonary function test
Research Areas
Pulmonary Medicine
Locations (2)
Insurance Information
Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.
Publications
Identifying asthma-related risks during hospitalization using the child asthma risk assessment tool. Journal of Asthma (Informa). 2023; 60:2189-2197.
Eosinophilic plastic bronchitis: Case series and review of the literature. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2023; 58:3023-3031.
Children with uncontrolled asthma from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods: Needs assessment and the development of a school-based telehealth and electronic inhaler monitoring system. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2023; 58:2249-2259.
Pulmonary function tests in extremely low gestational age infants at one year of age. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2022; 57:435-447.
Feasibility and preliminary validity of mobile spirometry in pediatric asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2021; 9:3821-3823.
Preventing asthma in high risk kids (PARK) with omalizumab: Design, rationale, methods, lessons learned and adaptation. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2021; 100:106228.
Lung function testing in children. Pediatric Allergy: Principles and Practice Principles and Practice. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2020.
Telehealth delivery of adherence and medication management system improves outcomes in inner-city children with asthma. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2020; 55:858-865.
Stepwise Pharmacological Approach to Severe Childhood Asthma. Severe Asthma in Children and Adolescents. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature; 2020.
Respiratory Medications in Infants <29 Weeks during the First Year Postdischarge: The Prematurity and Respiratory Outcomes Program (PROP) Consortium. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2019; 208:148-155.e3.
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