Paediatric respiratory diseases

Lung problems account for about one quarter of all visits by children to a general practitioner, and airway damage in early life can impact lung development and contribute to an increased risk of developing chronic lung disease in later life.

The ERS International Congress programme spotlights this disease area with a dedicated track for paediatric respiratory diseases, offering a variety of activities for health professionals involved in the care and management of young people with lung conditions and for those who conduct paediatric research.

View all sessions in the paediatric respiratory diseases track

Marielle Pijnenburg – Head

Q: What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Congress in the respiratory intensive care field?

A: I, like most people, am looking forward to have a face to face Congress and meet many colleagues personally, have informal meetings during the coffee breaks and inspire each other.  I am also happy that ERS decided to make this meeting hybrid so that as many participants as possible from all over the world will have access to the programme. I am proud of the broad pediatric input in the programme and could not choose a ‘favourite’ sessions.

Q: Is there a specific session in this track that should not be missed?

A: If I had to pick two sessions, I would draw special attention to the hot topic symposium ‘Moving to prevention of preschool wheeze: almost there?’ and to the prerecorded content including the year in review session. I would also recommend the CPD workshop on shared decision making in paediatric respiratory medicine which will be presented by my local Erasmus MC team.

Cristina Ardura-Garcia – Early-career representative

Q: What does congress offer to early career professionals who specialise in paediatrics?

A: The ERS International Congress 2022 will be in a hybrid format for the first time, both as a face-to-face and virtual meeting. We are delighted to have an in-person meeting again, as these are key for Early Career Members (ECMs) to network and meet both senior and young researchers in their field. In this year’s Congress there are several sessions focusing on lung function in children, together with the now classic ‘Lungs of Fire’ on Paediatric diseases and several symposia covering different paediatric respiratory diseases, from wheeze and asthma to lung development and tobacco control. We have also prepared an excellent ECMs symposium focused on ‘Steps for a successful career in respiratory research’, which I highly recommend.