Dr. Arjola Dervishi

Dr. Arjola Dervishi is a senior consultant pulmonologist at the University Hospital Centre Mother Teresa (QSUT) in Tirana — Albania's largest and most comprehensive academic teaching hospital, and the country's principal national referral centre for pulmonary disease. With over 16 years of clinical experience, she is one of Albania's most experienced respiratory medicine specialists.

She completed her medical training in Albania and subsequently pursued advanced specialist training in Italy — at the Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua), one of Europe's oldest and most esteemed medical universities, with a renowned pulmonology programme. This Italian training connection reflects the close academic and professional relationship between Albanian medicine and the Italian medical system, given the large Albanian diaspora in Italy and longstanding academic exchanges between the two countries.

At QSUT, Dr. Dervishi leads the outpatient pulmonology service and manages the inpatient respiratory medicine ward. COPD is Albania's leading respiratory disease burden, driven by a combination of historically high smoking rates, biomass fuel use in rural areas, and occupational dust exposures — and she manages a high volume of complex COPD cases including those requiring home oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilation. She is an active member of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and applies ERS guidelines to her clinical practice.

Dr. Dervishi completed her medical degree at the University of Medicine of Tirana (Universiteti i Mjekësisë i Tiranës), Albania's principal medical faculty, graduating in 2004. She completed her internal medicine residency and pulmonology specialty training at QSUT. She pursued advanced pulmonology training at the Università degli Studi di Padova in Italy, obtaining the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Diploma in Respiratory Medicine, a widely recognized European certification in respiratory specialist competence. Her PhD from the University of Medicine of Tirana focused on COPD phenotyping and spirometric outcomes in the Albanian population.

Dr. Dervishi's clinical expertise encompasses the full spectrum of adult respiratory medicine. In obstructive lung disease, she manages COPD from diagnosis through pharmacological optimisation, home oxygen therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation. In asthma, she provides specialist assessment including bronchoprovocation testing where indicated, and manages difficult-to-control asthma with biological therapies. In interstitial lung disease (ILD), she manages IPF, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and sarcoidosis — conducting multidisciplinary case discussions with radiology and pathology.

For diagnostic procedures, she performs diagnostic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and endobronchial biopsy, pleuroscopy for pleural effusion investigation, and comprehensive lung function testing including spirometry, DLCO, and body plethysmography. She coordinates overnight sleep studies for the investigation of obstructive sleep apnoea.

Dr. Dervishi consults in Albanian, Italian, and English. QSUT accepts patients from the Albanian diaspora in Italy, Greece, Germany, and beyond, as well as patients from other Balkan countries. She is available for video consultations for second opinions on complex respiratory cases and for pre-visit consultation planning. Albania's healthcare costs are among the lowest in Europe, and QSUT offers specialist respiratory services at highly accessible prices.

Dr. Dervishi received the Albanian Society of Pulmonology Award for Scientific Contribution in 2020. She has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles in Albanian and international respiratory journals. She has presented at ERS International Congress and participates actively in ERS educational programmes. She was appointed head of QSUT's outpatient pulmonology service in 2019.