Welcome Message

As the year draws to a close and many of us are wrapping up for the summer break we have a few short messages for you.

Firstly, we have two awards open which we would like to draw your attention to:

• TSANZ / LFA / CSL Behring Research Award for Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency
• TSANZ Indigenous Respiratory Nursing Award

Secondly, late-breaking abstracts are open, so if you have any new work to share with your colleagues, please consider submitting to TSANZSRS19!

Lastly, we wish you all a safe and relaxing break over the festive season. For those who will remain at work, we hope all goes smoothly for you! Enjoy the December edition of your research roundup and please check out the surveys below.

Profs Phil Hansbro & Sandra Hodge

Co-Chairs, Research Sub-Committee

Open Awards

Thoracic Society Awards

TSANZ / LFA / CSL Behring Research Award for Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency – closes 14 Feb 19

TSANZ Indigenous Respiratory Nursing Award – closes 31 Jan 19

Cystic Fibrosis Australia Awards

Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Grant – closes 28 Jan 2019

How to participate

Follow the links above to access each award application form and download the information sheet.

Please email the TSANZ Awards Coordinator with any questions, comments or enquires.

Watch this space for more award announcements…

The following articles will take you to thelimbic.com

5 “do not do” recommendations from TSANZ 

Age-dependent RSV asthma link creates vaccine conundrum

Spirometry safe in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm

Latest GOLD: ‘clear separation of initial & subsequent therapy’

Lung cancer screening within 5 years – but will it target the right people?

Respirology – Editor’s Choice

Respirology Issue 23.12 (December 2018)

Inflammation-dependent and independent airway remodelling in asthma

John G. Elliot, Peter B. Noble, Thais Mauad, Tony R. Bai, Michael J. Abramson, Karen O. McKay, Francis H.Y. Green, Alan L. James

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13360

1000-fold magnification of the airway smooth muscle layer with a counting grid overlay for planimetry assessment of the airway smooth muscle area.

Obstructive sleep apnoea independently predicts lipid levels: Data from the European Sleep Apnea Database

Canan Gündüz, Ozen K. Basoglu, Jan Hedner, Ding Zou, Maria R. Bonsignore, Holger Hein, Richard Staats, Athanasia Pataka, Ferran Barbe, Pavel Sliwinski, Brian D. Kent, Jean Lois Pepin, ​​​​​​​Ludger Grote, on behalf of the European Sleep Apnea Database Collaborators.

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13372

ESADA researchers and collaborators from left to right: Holger Hein, Sven Svedmyr, Ding Zou, Canan Gündüz, Ludger Grote.

Research Review

Australian Respiratory Research Review Issue 74

New Zealand Respiratory Research Review Issue 154

Research Project and Survey Requests

Current Opinions of Severe Asthma Specialists on the Utility of Biomarkers for the Management of Corticosteroid Treatment: A Survey

If you are an Australian clinician involved in the care of patients with severe asthma, we would be very grateful if you could complete a brief questionnaire.

We would ideally like to sample opinions from specialists involved in the care and management of patients with severe asthma to reach consensus. This is the second round of a multi-national Delphi process to reach a consensus and there may be follow-up questions based on the answers we receive from this round (with likely 2-3 rounds in total).

A strategy to optimize corticosteroid use in the severe asthma population using biomarkers is currently being investigated. Professors Peter Wark and Jodie Simpson at the University of Newcastle, Australia are looking at an algorithm to adjust corticosteroid dose using exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), and peripheral blood eosinophils. This survey is being conducted by them, and will also be part of a Masters by Research by Dr. James Michael Ramsahai. As part of this project, we would like to seek your views on some aspects of biomarker based corticosteroid adjustment in severe asthma.

For more details, please see the attached information statement. Please note that completion of the survey will imply consent to participate, and for the data collected to be used for analysis. You may withdraw at any time.

If you agree to participate, please follow the link to complete the survey

http://selectsurvey.hnehealth.nsw.gov.au/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=78M2nn61

*for issues with the survey link, please try copying and pasting into your browser and/or using Firefox browser. Feel free to contact the investigators with any questions*

Thank you,

Peter Wark
Jodie Simpson
J. Michael Ramsahai JamesMichael.Ramsahai@uon.edu.au

Management of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas with the use of intrapleural fibrinolytics

Dear TSANZ Member,

You are invited to participate in a survey that is being conducted as part of a research study. The following survey asks a series of questions about your current practice, specifically with regards to the management of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas with the use of intrapleural fibrinolytics. Insights gained will be considered for future presentation and publication. The estimated time to complete the survey is 10 minutes. Partial responses will not be saved if you exit out the survey early. Your participation is voluntary and anonymous. Responses will be kept confidential. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

The survey can be completed here: https://hms.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8ddQsXRFwaqAtPD 

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact the study team at: vholden@som.umaryland.edu

We thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Van Holden, MD
Mihir Parikh, MD
Alex Chee, MD
Adnan Majid, MD

Division of Thoracic Surgery & Interventional Pulmonology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School

The attached survey has been approved by the Beth Israel Deaconess Institutional Review Board – The IRB Protocol # is 2018P000052.

Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT)

ANZ health professionals who care for people with lung cancer are invited to take part in a survey about the clinical importance and management of cough.

Cough in lung cancer – a health professional survey

The survey link is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cough_in_lung_cancer

Survey results will be used to establish the need and direction for development of further pharmacological and non-pharmacological management strategies for cough in lung cancer.

We are interested in the views of health professionals from the full range of disciplines, specialties and settings involved in caring for people with lung cancer, regardless of their level of experience in managing cough.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous, and will take approximately 10-15 minutes.

This project is being conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in collaboration with colleagues at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU).

For more information, please contact Dr Tim Luckett via tim.luckett@uts.edu.au or 02 9514 4861.