Postgraduate week

PG1 Sleep disordered breathing in obstructive and restrictive lung diseases: from pathophysiology to treatment 

Aims: To describe hypoventilation syndromes and sleep disordered breathing in relation to different chronic respiratory diseases; to differentiate, diagnose and manage hypoventilation and sleep disordered breathing in patients with chronic respiratory diseases; to describe the pathophysiology, clinical features and consequences of chronic respiratory diseases and to differentiate among their comorbidities.

• This postgraduate course is also part of the ERS Respiratory sleep certified training programme. Find out more.

“This course will summarise current knowledge on the pathophysiology, clinical features and consequences of sleep breathing disorders in chronic respiratory diseases, and provide screening and diagnostic procedures as well as treatment options using real life cases. We will also summarise what is needed for the future in this topic, based on what is missing in the current practice.”
Sophia Schiza, PG Organiser

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PG2 Drug-resistant tuberculosis

Aims: To present a number of tuberculosis (TB) patients with common and difficult issues; to present an update on the current management of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB); to determine the best clinical approaches and management by applying current evidence and guidelines; and to describe diagnostic tests and their interpretation, the design of treatment regimens, including drugs and their side effects and the impact of co-morbidities, by presenting challenging cases of drug-resistant TB.

“This course is specifically designed for members of national expert advisory panels for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and will provide you with the evidence base for what to do next following the WHO guidelines on treatment. Expert opinion seems focused on drugs, but patients may also have co-morbidities and social problems, which this course will help you to address.”
Graham H. Bothamley, PG Organiser

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PG3 Masterclass updates in asthma and COPD

Aims: To describe methods of diagnosing and managing patients with difficult-to-treat asthma; to present methods of assessing and treating patients with severe asthma phenotypes and of monitoring the effects of treatment of severe asthma based on recent updates; to describe methods of assessing COPD that can determine the severity of airflow limitation and the risk of exacerbations; to identify the main goals of COPD assessment that include determinations of the presence and severity of spirometric abnormalities, the magnitude of patient symptoms, the history of exacerbations and future risks, and the presence of comorbidities; to describe the ability of pharmacologic therapy to reduce COPD symptoms and the frequency and severity of exacerbations; and to describe the importance of individualising pharmacologic treatments based on the severity of symptoms, the risk of exacerbations, side-effects and comorbidities, patient preference, and patient ability to use drug delivery devices.

“We would like to welcome you to this course where we will discuss and update your knowledge in individualising pharmacologic treatments, which will be the future of airway diseases. Let’s learn about phenotyping and the new and old treatments for airway diseases.”
Ayşe Arzu Yorgancıoğlu, PG Chair

“This year’s masterclass updates in asthma and COPD builds on the themes of the 2021 ERS Congress. With a focus on patient phenotyping and treatment updates, the course will present the latest clinical trial data, challenging case scenarios and pragmatic approaches to managing patients in our everyday clinic.”
Omar Usmani, PG Chair

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PG4 Back to clinical physiology

Aims: To understand the basic principles of respiratory physiology and how and to what extent they apply to clinical practice.

This module, along with PG8 Advanced cardiopulmonary exercise testing, will demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that pulmonary physiology is very much alive and indeed continues to thrive and yield remarkable innovations in patient care.”
Pierantonio Laveneziana, PG Organiser

PG5 Pleural disease: integrating 2021 evidence with real life cases

Aims: To present all aspects of pleural disease, including 1) the pathophysiology of effusion formation and symptoms; 2) the optimal diagnostic methods, including emerging data on rationalisation steps and direct-to-biopsy strategies; 3) a synthesis of high-quality evidence that enables management of patients with malignant pleural effusion; 4) the evolving oncological management of mesothelioma; 5) pleural infection: from bench-to-bedside; and 6) a review of the optimal management of pneumothorax, including the results of soon to be published phase III trials of ambulatory/conservative strategies.

Pleural disease affects many thousands of patients per year, presenting diagnostic and treatment challenges for all pulmonologists. There is now a wealth of high quality studies addressing key diagnostic and treatment challenges in pleural disease, which directly affect how we optimally treat patients. Expert speakers on this course will cover major areas of pleural disease, present the latest evidence, and use a case based approach to clarify learning points and address difficult issues.”
Najib Rahman, PG Chair

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PG6 Noninvasive monitoring in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit

Aims: To provide an update on methods for noninvasively monitoring respiratory critical care patients; and to encourage the implementation/improvement of noninvasive procedures to assess and monitor patients’ respiratory conditions in the intensive care unit (ICU), including the early identification of responders to noninvasive and invasive respiratory support and/or medical therapy.

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PG7 Emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance: diagnostics, treatments, vaccines and other preventive and/or therapeutic interventions 

Aims: To review the current evidence regarding novel or improved microbiological diagnostic tests, new preventive and therapeutic strategies to better respond to ID threats.

“Vaccines against respiratory microorganisms have additional benefits in antibiotic resistance and neurocognitive and cardiovascular systems. This course will present the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines and discuss the remaining challenges facing us.”
Rosario Menendez Villanueva, PG Chair

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PG8 Advanced cardiopulmonary exercise testing

Aims: At the end of the course, the participants will understand the physiological constraints of exercise tolerance and its application in clinical practice; appreciate the optimal methods for testing lung mechanics and spirometry; understand the different formats of exercise tests, their advantages and disadvantages, and their different prognostic values in adults and children; and appreciate the usefulness of exercise testing for evaluating pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in clinical practice.

“This module, along with PG4 Back to clinical physiology, will demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that pulmonary physiology is very much alive and indeed continues to thrive and yield remarkable innovations in patient care.”
Pierantonio Laveneziana, PG Organiser

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PG9 Acute and chronic cough in children

Aims: To present guidelines on the treatment of childhood cough; and to describe possible pitfalls and difficult differential diagnoses, as well as important differences between childhood and adult cough.

“Childhood cough needs special attention, and the management of acute and chronic cough in children differs considerably from adult cough. This course will present clinical cases demonstrating the latest knowledge on childhood cough, as well the correct paediatric pathways and differential diagnosis to find the right treatment for each patient, focusing on improvement of overall care.”
Angela Zacharasiewicz, PG Chair

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PG10 Imaging guided interventional pulmonology 

Aims: To describe the roles of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and virtual bronchoscopy in the preoperative assessment of patients undergoing endoscopic treatment for emphysema; and to determine the ability of imaging to enhance limited surgical interventions.

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PG11 Pulmonary hypertension in a nutshell

Aims: This session will provide participants with an understanding of the physiology of the right ventricle and pulmonary hemodynamics and health and disease, explore how to make a correct diagnosis in pulmonary hypertension including pitfalls, discuss how to interpret a right heart catheterisation, explain the principles of treatment in PAH and CTEPH, and describe how to organise PAH/CTEPH care in your region/country.

“This course is highly recommended for every pulmonologist, as pulmonary hypertension can complicate every lung disease, and will provide participants with adequate basic knowledge on pulmonary vascular diseases and recent advances.”
Anton Vonk Noordegraaf, PG Chair

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