Clinical highlights from the 2011 ERS Congress in Amsterdam

Abstract

This article reports on selected papers pertinent to the most important clinical problems in the field of respiratory medicine. Expert authors from the Clinical Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) have selected updated reports related to presentations given at the 2011 ERS Annual Congress, which was held in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and attended by more than 20,000 participants. The hot topics and selected abstracts from the scientific groups of the Clinical Assembly are discussed here in the context of recent literature.

Follow-up outcomes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who underwent dilatation and curettage with the Karakoca resector balloon

“…Although various interventional endoscopic techniques of lung volume reduction have been developed for COPD, proper patient selection is required. [5–7] A significant percentage of COPD patients have airway inflammation. Bronchitis and bronchiolitis prominently contribute to airflow limitation not only by narrowing and obliterating the airway lumen but also by actively constricting the airways.…”

“…Despite optimal pharmacological and rehabilitation therapies, a significant percentage of COPD patients suffer from symptoms of airflow limitations, but interventional therapies are limited. [5–7]…”

Global effort against rare and orphan diseases: Table 1.

“…During the 2011 European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, the Clinical Assembly of the society organised a symposium dedicated to these topics, the proceeding of which were published in the European Respiratory Journal [9]. The increasing interest of the ERR in this field is also reflected by the 23 articles published on IPF since 2005, and the 31 articles on PAH and three on LAM published in the last 2 yrs.…”

The ambition of theEuropean Respiratory Journal: chapter 2

“…Lastly, we will soon be launching a novel From the Museum art series. In this exciting context, our readers have certainly noticed that more editorials [6][7][8], debates [9,10], perspectives [11,12], statements, guidelines, recommendations [13][14][15][16], Assembly reports [17][18][19], letters and correspondences [20] have been published in our pages, providing a broad range of updated information for our community. Of note, letters and correspondences are now published in an Agora section [20] in which we wish to further highlight original research and debate in our fast-growing field.…”