Dr. Patricia Morales Vega

Dr. Patricia Morales Vega is a pulmonologist at Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo in Quito, Ecuador's principal public referral hospital and an important training centre for Ecuadorian specialists. With 13 years of experience in respiratory medicine, she manages adult patients with COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, and sleep-disordered breathing. Her fellowship in critical care enables her to manage ventilated patients in the intensive care unit. Quito's high-altitude location (2,850 metres above sea level) presents unique respiratory challenges, and Dr. Morales Vega has particular expertise in altitude-related respiratory physiology and the management of respiratory conditions in high-altitude populations.

Dr. Morales Vega completed her MD at Universidad Central del Ecuador in Quito and completed her specialist training in pulmonology, earning a specialty diploma from Ecuador's national medical specialty system. She undertook a fellowship in critical care at a leading Ecuadorian hospital, gaining competency in mechanical ventilation management and intensive care. She is a member of ALAT (Latin American Thoracic Association) and attends regional thoracic medicine conferences, maintaining current knowledge of evidence-based respiratory medicine practice.

Dr. Morales Vega's clinical expertise covers obstructive lung diseases, interstitial and inflammatory lung diseases, pulmonary vascular diseases, and sleep medicine. She performs spirometry, bronchoscopy, pleural drainage, and thoracocentesis. In the intensive care setting, she manages mechanical ventilation and ventilator weaning protocols. She is experienced in CPAP and BiPAP initiation for sleep apnoea and obesity hypoventilation. Her altitude medicine expertise adds a distinctive dimension to her practice, relevant given Quito's elevation and the surrounding Andean patient population.

Dr. Morales Vega consults in Spanish and English. International visitors to Quito requiring pulmonology care can access consultation at Hospital Eugenio Espejo or through Quito's network of private hospitals. Altitude-related respiratory problems are a common concern for visitors to high-altitude Ecuador, and Dr. Morales Vega is experienced in advising tourists and expatriates on altitude acclimatisation and respiratory management at altitude. Video consultations are available.

Dr. Morales Vega has received recognition from the Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Neumología for her contributions to pulmonology practice and education at Hospital Eugenio Espejo. She is a member of the Latin American Thoracic Association (ALAT) and participates actively in its continuing medical education activities and regional congresses.

She has presented research on altitude-related respiratory physiology and the management of COPD in Andean populations at ALAT congresses and national respiratory medicine meetings, contributing to the growing body of altitude medicine evidence specific to the Ecuadorian and broader Andean clinical context. She has also been recognised within Hospital Eugenio Espejo for her contributions to respiratory medicine training for junior physicians and medical residents in the specialist training programme.