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More than 35,000 clinicians, scientists and allied health professionals from over 160 countries are part of the ERS community
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Dr Marc Miravitlles is the ERS Vice President.
He is a Senior Researcher and Consultant at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona and has acted as a consultant for the development of international guidelines of COPD, including the ERS statement on management of respiratory disease in Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). He is also currently Chair of the European Alpha-1- Research Collaboration (EARCO CRC) of the ERS.
The ERS Congress is a great opportunity to network with colleagues from around the world. It is also the best opportunity for early-career researchers and clinicians to present their results and meet with senior researchers in their field.
The most difficult part is to select the sessions you want to attend because due to the size of the congress and the huge number of sessions, it is essential to plan your visit to the conference so that you do not miss anything important.
In particular, though, I am looking forward to seeing the results of the clinical trials of new treatments for COPD.
This theme highlights the global nature of our Society. We really care about respiratory health globally, not just in Europe. Respiratory health across the world is threatened each day by a number of risk factors; as respiratory professionals, it is our responsibility to prioritise these factors in our research agenda.
The congress is so vast and will cover a huge amount of important topics, which makes it a great opportunity not only to be updated in your specialist area, but also to receive the latest updates in areas beyond your usual area of expertise.
I’m very interested in the studies of trajectories of lung function; the possibility of remission in asthma; new treatments for ILD; the screening strategies for lung cancer; and many others.
As a whole, I like the Lungs on Fire sessions – particularly those dedicated to airways diseases. These sessions are always very educational and engaging.
Mini symposium Forewarned is forearmed: cohort studies in the mission to understand structural and immunological determinants of early disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (10:15–11:45 CEST, Sunday 28 September)
Some determinants in early life explain aspects of airways diseases in adulthood; there is new evidence of the type of determinants that may affect lung development.
Hot topics Big changes on a small scale: Microbiome targeted therapies for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases (15:30–17:00 CEST, Monday 29 September)
Infection plays an important role in the development of some airways diseases, such as COPD. However, there is limited information about the importance of modifying the microbiome in these patients to improve clinical outcomes. We definitively need to learn more about the interplay between bacteria and the host in COPD.
The main objective of the ERS Congress is to improve patient care, but of course some sessions may be more impactful than others for patients in the short term.
However, one of the characteristics of the ERS Congress is that it is very patient-focused. Some of the sessions that may have an impact on patient care, for example:
Hot topics Cough phenotyping: from the clinic to treatment (08:30–10:00 CEST, Monday 29 September)
Hot topics Respiratory infections – prevention is better than cure (13:45–15:15 CEST, Sunday 28 September)
Hot topics Understanding disease variability and its impact on the management of obstructive sleep apnoea (13:45–15:15 CEST, Sunday 28 September)