Clinical expertise
Dr Samatha Sonnappa is a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine has expertise in diagnosing and treating children with:
- asthma
- exercise-induced breathlessness
- wheeze
- chronic cough
- congenital lung abnormalities
- chest infections
She has a special interest in helping young athletes with exercise-induced respiratory symptoms and has a systematic process for the assessment and treatment of athletes under 16 years of age.
She offers cardiopulmonary testing and the ‘continuous laryngoscopy during exercise’ (CLE) test to children and young people, which helps her to diagnose exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO), a condition which can cause breathlessness during exercise.
Several children and young people have persistent respiratory symptoms due to long COVID and Dr Sonnappa offers a comprehensive assessment for these children.
Locations
Our specialist provides care at these locations:
Biography
Dr Samatha Sonnappa is a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital, where she treats both private and NHS patients.
Dr Sonnappa completed her medical education in India, including training in general paediatrics, neonatology, and paediatric respiratory medicine.
She moved to the UK and completed her specialist paediatric respiratory medicine training at Great Ormond Street Hospital. For her PhD thesis at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH), she investigated sensitive measures of lung function in preschool children with frequent wheezing.
In 2005, Dr Sonnappa was appointed as a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine and a fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Research
Dr Samatha Sonnappa’s research interests are in preschool wheeze, asthma, chest infections and exercise-induced respiratory symptoms and respiratory symptoms associated with long COVID.
Publications
Dr Samatha Sonnappa has written numerous papers, book chapters, national guidelines and invited reviews on her specialist interests.
