Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

 

This year’s International Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) was again the place to be to get the most recent update in important areas of pulmonary diseases.

The burden of respiratory infections remains significant worldwide, resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality. Identifying risk factors aids adequate diagnosis and treatment, although resistance - especially in tuberculosis - can be a complicating factor. These factors were presented, as well as survival rates after NTM infections.

The field of airway diseases continues to evolve. Growing insight into aetiology, the role of large and small airways and the interaction between the two have been key in understanding and developing adequate treatment options for patients. There are increasing data on the effects and safety of biologicals in very severe asthma. Modulators of IL-5 activity and of TSLP activity show important clinical effects. New data and comparisons between these compounds were presented. Another development entering the clinic is a triple inhaler containing an ICS, LABA and LAMA. This might benefit COPD patients who have an indication for treatment with all three components.

Pulmonary rehabilitation has shown to be indispensable for pulmonary patients, improving the physical as well as the mental wellbeing of patients. There are many different types of pulmonary rehabilitation that enable physicians and patients to choose the most appropriate program to fit in the patients’ daily life activities. Increasing data become available, enabling a more personalised and targeted rehabilitation programme.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is slowly revealing its secrets. Timely and accurate diagnosis remains particularly important, especially now that the therapeutic options continue to improve. Data on the long-term effects of new drugs and combinations of efficacious drugs were presented.

Immunotherapy is widely recognised as a ‘game changer’ in lung cancer, offering patients significantly better perspectives than ever before. It can even be stated that some of metastatic patients have curable diseases. Nevertheless, there are still many challenges to overcome, either diagnostic or therapeutic by nature. Data on long-term effects, side effects and safety were presented, as well as a updated algorithm in advanced NSCLC.

Besides the topics indicated above, interesting findings regarding pulmonary arterial hypertension, respiratory failure and sleep were presented.

While you may not have been able to experience these aspects of the ATS yourself, this report outlines the most significant advancements discussed and practical advice disseminated. So, we hope that you will enjoy reading this Conference Report!

 

Kind regards,

Prof. Richard Dekhuijzen

 

Biography

Prof. P.N. Richard Dekhuijzen is Professor of Pulmonology at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His specific area of clinical and research interest includes asthma, COPD, and inhalation technology. He studied medicine at VU Amsterdam and completed his training in pulmonology at the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis in Amsterdam and in the Academic Hospital Nijmegen. In 1989, he finished his PhD thesis on training of the respiratory muscles in COPD, followed by a PhD thesis on steroid induced myopathy of the diaphragm in 1994 at the Catholic University Leuven (Belgium). He is author/co-author of over 330 peer-reviewed papers and many textbook chapters on respiratory medicine. From 2008-2010, he was Head of the Cardiology Department at Radboudumc. Until 2016, he chaired the Department of Pulmonary Diseases, the Heart-Lung Centre Nijmegen, and the Medical Staff at Radboudumc. He is the scientific chair of the Aerosol Drug Management Improvement Team (ADMIT) and chair of the Dutch Inhalation Technology Working Group. Currently, he is chair of the Medical Ethical Committee of the Radboudumc.



Posted on 13 September, 201723 March, 2021