Acute Critical Care

Chair: Theodoros Vassilakopoulos
Secretary: Stylianos Orfanos

This Group is dedicated to the diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and pathogenesis of acute respiratory failure in both acute and chronic lung disease, including respiratory infections, both community-acquired and ventilator-associated. Acute respiratory failure and respiratory infections are still associated with a high mortality, often due to sepsis and multi-organ failure. Our Group hosts pneumologists, intensivists, anaesthesiologists, physiologists, infectiologists, surgeons and other specialists reflecting the interdisciplinary approach to this field. We contribute to the organisation of Symposia, Postgraduate Courses and other activities intended to facilitate an interactive and scientifically valid exchange of knowledge with well-recognised experts. It offers a platform for the expansion of expertise in established concepts and the introduction of new and alternative approaches in the management and diagnosis of patients with acute respiratory failure and respiratory infections.

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Noninvasive Ventilatory Support

Chair: Wolfram Windisch
Secretary: Raffaele Scala

Non-invasive mechanical ventilation was initially applied to treat severe episodes of acute respiratory failure in patients with chronic pulmonary disease, but is now increasingly used to support those with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure. Indeed, this technique has been widely used on a chronic basis to improve gas exchange, symptoms and survival in patients affected by several forms of restrictive thoracic disease.

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