DM · DrNB
50 DM Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Thesis Topics
Academic session 2026-2027 · 50 topics
This page lists 50 pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine thesis topics for DM and DrNB candidates in India for the 2026-2027 academic session. This combined superspecialty gives a candidate access to three research territories that individually offer limited numbers but together create a workable range: the outpatient chest clinic, the medical intensive care unit, and the sleep laboratory.
The pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine thesis topics below draw on all three. They cover obstructive airway disease and spirometry, sleep disordered breathing and polysomnography, interstitial and occupational lung disease, pleural conditions, bronchoscopic procedures, mechanical ventilation in the intensive care setting, and respiratory complications of systemic disease.
Click any topic to open it in the protocol generator with the title already filled in.
- A cross-sectional study of asthma control assessed by a validated instrument and spirometric parametersGet protocol
- An observational study of the association between asthma severity and sleep qualityGet protocol
- A study of asthma exacerbation frequency and its determinants in a chest clinic populationGet protocol
- An observational study of the clinical profile and spirometric severity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseGet protocol
- A study of the association between computed tomography phenotypes and spirometric severityGet protocol
- An observational study of the six minute walk distance and its clinical correlates in obstructive airway diseaseGet protocol
- A comparative study of two inhaled therapy regimens on spirometric parameters at three monthsGet protocol
- An observational study of treatment adherence and inhaler technique in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of comorbidities and their burden in patients with chronic obstructive airway diseaseGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea assessed by a validated questionnaireGet protocol
- An observational study of polysomnographic findings in patients with clinically suspected sleep apnoeaGet protocol
- A study of the severity of sleep apnoea and its clinical and anthropometric correlatesGet protocol
- An observational study of the association between obstructive sleep apnoea and hypertensionGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of excessive daytime sleepiness and its clinical determinantsGet protocol
- An observational study of the response to continuous positive airway pressure therapy assessed at three monthsGet protocol
- A study of adherence to non-invasive pressure support and its determinantsGet protocol
- An observational study of the overlap syndrome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep apnoeaGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the clinical and high resolution computed tomography profile of patients with fibrotic interstitial lung diseaseGet protocol
- An observational study of the pattern of pulmonary function impairment in connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung diseaseGet protocol
- A study of the interobserver agreement in high resolution computed tomography pattern interpretation in interstitial lung diseaseGet protocol
- An observational study of bronchoalveolar lavage findings and their diagnostic utility in interstitial diseaseGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of respiratory symptoms and lung function in workers with occupational dust exposureGet protocol
- An observational study of silicosis and its clinical and functional profile in a cohort of exposed workersGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the aetiology and management of patients presenting with pleural effusionGet protocol
- An observational study of the diagnostic yield of pleural fluid analysis in undiagnosed effusionGet protocol
- A study of the outcome of medical thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusionGet protocol
- An observational study of the procedural yield and complication rate of flexible bronchoscopy in a pulmonary unitGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the diagnostic yield of bronchoalveolar lavage in suspected pulmonary infectionGet protocol
- An observational study of the clinical and microbiological profile of patients with ventilator associated pneumoniaGet protocol
- A study of the indications and outcome of non-invasive ventilation in a medical intensive care unitGet protocol
- An observational study of the outcome of high flow nasal oxygen in patients with acute hypoxaemic failureGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the clinical profile and outcome of patients with acute respiratory distress syndromeGet protocol
- An observational study of the incidence and determinants of extubation failure in a medical intensive care unitGet protocol
- A study of the association between diaphragmatic ultrasound parameters and weaning outcomeGet protocol
- An observational study of the use of prone positioning in mechanically ventilated patientsGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the clinical profile and outcome of patients with pulmonary hypertensionGet protocol
- An observational study of pulmonary function in patients with connective tissue diseaseGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the clinical spectrum and management of patients with lung malignancyGet protocol
- An observational study of the diagnostic yield of computed tomography guided percutaneous biopsy in lung lesionsGet protocol
- A study of the diagnostic workup and yield in patients presenting with haemoptysisGet protocol
- An observational study of the clinical profile and outcome of patients with endobronchial lesionsGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the lung function abnormalities in post-tuberculosis patientsGet protocol
- An observational study of the clinical and spirometric profile of patients with post-tuberculosis obstructive lung diseaseGet protocol
- A study of smoking status and its effect on spirometric parameters in a chest clinic populationGet protocol
- An observational study of tobacco cessation counselling outcomes over a defined follow-up periodGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the respiratory manifestations in patients with haematological malignancyGet protocol
- An observational study of pulmonary complications in patients receiving chemotherapyGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the impact of respiratory disease on sleep quality assessed by a validated instrumentGet protocol
- An observational study of the clinical spectrum of respiratory emergencies presenting to a chest unitGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the referral pattern and diagnostic spectrum in a pulmonary medicine outpatient serviceGet protocol
Choosing a DM Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine thesis topic
What investigative access distinguishes this superspecialty?
Full polysomnography, bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage, high resolution computed tomography interpretation, and medical intensive care unit access. A study that uses only spirometry and questionnaires could have come from a general medicine or chest diseases outpatient. Work that uses sleep laboratory data, bronchoscopic findings or ventilator waveforms is clearly superspecialty level.
How does the sleep medicine component affect sample size?
It reduces it significantly, because polysomnography is expensive, time-consuming and available only at equipped centres. A study requiring full polysomnography on two hundred participants is unrealistic at most Indian institutions. Questionnaire-based sleep screening, home oximetry and split-night studies are more practical, and the protocol should match the available infrastructure.
What outcomes fit a pulmonary and critical care thesis?
Spirometric parameters and their reversibility, sleep study indices at defined intervals, bronchoscopic diagnostic yield, ventilator duration and weaning outcome, in-hospital mortality in acute respiratory failure, and symptom and quality of life scores at three months. Disease progression over years and transplant survival do not fit.
Thesis and protocol questions
How is a thesis topic different from a thesis protocol?
The topic is the title — the question a study sets out to answer, together with the population and the design. The protocol is the full document built around it: background, review of literature, aims and objectives, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size calculation, methodology, statistical plan, ethics considerations, consent documents and references. A topic is agreed with a guide first; the protocol is written afterwards and submitted to the institutional ethics committee.
When does a postgraduate thesis have to be submitted?
For most Indian postgraduate programmes the protocol is submitted within the first six months of joining, and the completed thesis is submitted at least six months before the final examination. Exact deadlines are set by the university, so the departmental circular for the current session takes precedence over any general timeline.
How is sample size decided for a postgraduate thesis?
Sample size follows from the primary objective, not the other way round. A prevalence study is powered from an expected proportion and an acceptable margin of error; a comparative study is powered from the expected difference between groups, the standard deviation, alpha and desired power. The figure should then be checked against the institution's actual case load for the study period, because a statistically ideal sample that cannot be recruited in the time available is not a workable plan.
Does a thesis topic need ethics committee approval?
Yes. Every postgraduate thesis involving human participants, human data or human samples requires clearance from the institutional ethics committee before data collection begins. Approval is granted on the protocol rather than on the title, and the submission usually includes the protocol, the participant information sheet and the consent form in English and in the local language.
What makes a topic realistic for a three-year postgraduate programme?
A workable topic can be completed at a single centre, with equipment and investigations that are already available in routine practice, within roughly eighteen months of data collection. Topics that depend on external funding, specialised assays, multicentre coordination or long follow-up tend to stall. Choosing a condition the department already sees in volume matters more than choosing a novel one.
Can a thesis be published as a research paper afterwards?
Yes, and it is generally expected. A thesis is usually condensed into a paper of around three to four thousand words, restructured into the standard introduction, methods, results and discussion format, with the review of literature shortened considerably. Journals differ in their requirements, and the ethics approval number from the original thesis is normally cited in the methods section.