ERS International Congress, Madrid, 2019: highlights from the Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Assembly

Abstract

The European Respiratory Society's International Congress of 2019, held in Madrid, Spain had exciting sessions regarding the field of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD). The symposia related to the new ERS/ECS diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) were well received, as were sessions of pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to lung disease, demonstrating the concept of PH not being the rarity that it was previously thought to be. The use of risk stratification in relation to pulmonary atrial hypertension (PAH) was heavily featured and the scientific sessions informing the respiratory community of potential biomarkers and targets for future therapies were thought provoking.In preparation of the upcoming innovative ERS International Virtual Congress in the autumn of 2020 we wanted to prepare a highlights article of the 2019 PVD sessions as a summary of current knowledge and practise.We have therefore, summarised the key points from the sessions pertaining to the new ERS/ESC guidance of the management of acute PE. We have also focused on prognostic factors and potential therapies in PH related to interstitial lung disease. Relating to PAH we have reviewed the symposia on risk stratification, along with the use on non-invasive measures and the sessions relating to biomarkers in PAH.

Proteomic analysis of pulmonary arterial hypertension

“…Two major biomarkers of PAH were recently proposed in the 2019 European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress. 15 One study reported that the levels of endostatin (ES), a potent angiostatic factor, are elevated in PAH patients and distinguishes them from healthy controls (HCs) at a serum threshold of 66 ng/ml, with an area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.879. 16 The ES level in PAH patients was found to correlate positively with the mPAP, right atrial pressure (RAP), 6-min walking distance (6MWD), and cardiac output (CO).…”

“…Another promising biomarker is asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), the major endogenous nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, which has been shown to be relevant to follow-up BNP and risk assessment scores in PAH patients who improved after targeted therapy. 15 A comprehensive list of proteomic studies focusing on blood biomarkers and the key findings are presented in Table 1 .…”

ERS International Congress 2023: highlights from the Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Assembly

“…Pulmonary vascular diseases encompass a spectrum of conditions that are frequently under-recognised, including pulmonary embolism (PE) and pulmonary hypertension (PH). The European Respiratory Society (ERS) has made a concerted effort to improve awareness, provide education and facilitate research into this important area [ 1 , 2 ] and this was reflected in the pulmonary vascular disease track at the 2023 ERS Congress. We witnessed exciting developments in novel therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that target the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) pathways.…”

Padrões hemodinâmicos pulmonares em pacientes pediátricos com defeitos septais cardíacos congênitos: relação com mediadores inflamatórios e a presença não suspeitada de vírus respiratórios

“…As lesões vasculares pulmonares em cardiopatias congênitas foram inicialmente classificadas de maneira qualitativa em seis graus, contemplando a hipertrofia da camada média arterial e arteriolar, a proliferação intimal de magnitude variável (podendo chegar à oclusão vascular) e lesões mais complexas (26,27) . Estas últimas incluem lesões plexiformes, dilatadas e arterite necrotizante (28) . Na maioria dos casos, sobretudo em pacientes de baixa idade, predominam vasos com hipertrofia medial apenas, ou com lesões intimais não oclusivas.…”