Programme highlight: Interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung diseases at Congress:

There are over 300 interstitial lung diseases (ILD), including sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, connective tissue disease and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. Only one in three cases has a known cause. This year ILD is one of the eight key fields taking centre stage at the ERS Congress and a full selection of related educational and scientific sessions will be available.

Activities on the topic of ILD include: a hot topic session on 'Emerging and novel imaging biomarkers in drug induced interstitial lung disease', challenging clinical cases on 'Interstitial lung diseases' and 'Pulmonary vasculitis: the great chameleon', a postgraduate course on 'Challenging issues in acute ILD', a meet the expert session on 'Cryobiopsy in interstitial lung disease' and a symposium on 'ILD: an interdisciplinary approach' plus much more.*

Use the programme to find all related sessions

To search for sessions specifically linked to the topic of respiratory critical care you can use the online search tool; simply access the online programme, click on 'Advance' and select 'Interstitial lung disease' from the 'Track' options. The programme can also be used to search for keywords, speakers and dates.

Hear from ERS officers

ERS introduced a specialist assembly with a focus on ILD in 2017, which is made up of healthcare professionals and scientists from around the world and led by experts in this field; head of the ERS Assembly on Interstitial Lung Disease Professor Venerino Poletti (VP) and the early-career representative Dr Tiago Alfaro (TA) offer is some insight into this year's event.

What can professionals specialising in this area expect to gain from attending this year's Congress?

VP: Professionals at this year's Congress can expect to stay updated regarding pathogenesis, clinical profiles, diagnostic strategies and treatment options of the most common diffuse parenchymal lung diseases.

As an early-career professional with a focus on interstitial lung diseases, why is the upcoming Congress valuable to career development?

TA: We have been seeing a growing interest in interstitial lung diseases in the last few years, particularly among early-career clinicians as well as researchers. The European Respiratory Society has been at the forefront of this movement, creating the new Assembly 12 – Interstitial Lung Diseases, and establishing ILD as one of the eight key educational fields for the ERS Congress.

As an early-career professional with a focus on ILD, this year's Congress will allow me to access state-of-the-art educational sessions on how to diagnose and manage these frequently complex diseases. There are also new multidisciplinary sessions, such as "Respiratory Medicine Meets Rheumatology", which will definitely get interest from clinicians working in ILD.

Early-career members can present and discuss new findings on the numerous poster and oral sessions on ILDs, creating valuable opportunities for feedback and networking with peers and seniors. The early-career session on Tuesday (18 September) afternoon is also a great networking opportunity.

Finally, do not miss the Game Zone, where you can assess your knowledge around eight key areas of respiratory medicine, including ILD.

You can join the ERS Assembly on Intersitital lung diseases Interstitial lung diseases using our online platform myERS and ensure that you are kept up to date with developments and opportunities in this area.

*Note: Educational sessions (postgraduate courses, skills workshops, professional development workshops and meet the expert sessions) can be attended at an additional cost to the standard registration fee