Welcome Message

The TSANZSRS19 is just around the corner, coming up in just 3 short weeks! This year’s theme is respiratory infection and will showcase plenary sessions such as How infections and microbiomes influence respiratory disease, Microbial pathogenesis in chronic lung disease, and the ANZSRS/TSANZ joint plenary on Bugs behaving badly. The theme even extends into the TSANZ Gala Dinner, inviting delegates to come dressed as their choice of superhero or superbug! Visit the conference website for the full program or to register now.

We would like to remind everyone that this year we will once again be holding the Respiratory Research Excellence Awards and you are all invited and encouraged to attend! This event drew a full house last year as we all gathered to support, thank and congratulate our colleagues, collaborators, and sponsors. Please pick up a glass of bubbles at the door and join us again for this opening event.

We wish you all the best in your preparation for the ASM. See you on the Gold Coast.

Enjoy the March edition of your research roundup and please check out the surveys below.

Profs Phil Hansbro & Sandra Hodge

Co-Chairs, Research Sub-Committee

Open Awards

Lung Foundation Awards

Lung Foundation Australia / A Menarini Pty Ltd 2019 Travel Awards 

Travel application deadlines

ATS: 22nd March 2019 (5pm AEST)

ERS: 31st July 2019 (5pm AEST)

APSR: 13th September 2019 (5pm AEST)

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

Call to do better in non-drug asthma management

4 respiratory medicine achievers in Honours List

Can respiratory guidelines be trusted to be unbiased?

Low dose morphine licensed for chronic breathlessness

Trial will inform choice between mAbs in severe allergic asthma

CHEST Australia trial highlights difficulty in lung cancer diagnosis

Dual therapy for PAH gets PBS listing recommendation

Respirology – Editor’s Choice

Respirology Issues 2019

Treatable traits can be identified in a severe asthma registry and predict future exacerbations

Vanessa M. McDonald, Sarah A. Hiles, Krystelle Godbout, Erin S. Harvey, Guy B. Marks, Mark Hew, Matthew Peters, Philip G. Bardin, Paul N. Reynolds, John W. Upham, Melissa Baraket, Zaheerodin Bhikoo, Jeffrey Bowden, Ben Brockway, Li Ping Chung, Belinda Cochrane, Gloria Foxley, Jeffrey Garrett, Lata Jayaram, Christine Jenkins, Constance Katelaris, Gregory Katsoulotos, Mariko S. Koh, Vicky Kritikos, Marina Lambert, David Langton, Alexis Lara Rivero, Peter G. Middleton, Aldoph Nanguzgambo, Naghmeh Radhakrishna, Helen Reddel, Janet Rimmer, Anne Marie Southcott, Michael Sutherland, Francis Thien, Peter A.B. Wark, Ian A. Yang, Elaine Yap, and Peter G. Gibson

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13389

Effects of emphysema on physiological and prognostic characteristics of lung function in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Hee‐Young Yoon, Tae Hoon Kim, Joon Beom Seo, Sang Min Lee, Soyeoun Lim, Han Na Lee, Namkug Kim, Minkyu Han, Dong Soon Kim, and Jin Woo Song.

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13387

CT scans of a patient with IPF and 7.6% emphysema [LEFT], and a texture-based automated quantitative system classification denoting regional patterns of lung tissue [RIGHT], including normal (green), reticular opacity (cyan), emphysema (red), consolidation (pink) and honeycombing (blue).

Predictive factors and prognostic effect of telomere shortening in pulmonary fibrosis

Lurdes Planas‐Cerezales, Elena G. Arias‐Salgado, Ivette Buendia‐Roldán, Ana Montes‐Worboys, Cristina Esquinas López, Vanesa Vicens‐Zygmunt, Patricio Luburich Hernaiz, Roger Llatjós Sanuy, Virginia Leiro‐Fernandez, Eva Balcells Vilarnau, Ernest Sala Llinás, Jordi Dorca Sargatal, Rosario Perona Abellón, Moisés Selman, and Maria Molina‐Molina.

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13423

Transplant-free survival time according to the presence or absence of telomere shortening in combination of being younger or older than 60 years of age.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in a multi-ethnic Asian population: Characteristics, survival and mortality predictors from a 14-year follow-up study

Yinghao Lim, Ting‐Ting Low, Siew‐Pang Chan, Ting Wei Teo, Jin‐Hao Justin Jang, Nicole Yip, Ivandito Kuntjoro, Edgar Lik‐Wui Tay, and James Wei‐Luen Yip.

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13392

The pulmonary hypertension team at the National University Heart Centre in Singapore; from left to right: Edgar Tay, Ivandito Kuntjoro, Justin Jang, Siew Pang Chan, Ting Ting Low, Geying Li, Ai Huong Then, Ting Wei Teo and Yinghao Lim. Missing from this photo are authors Nicole Yip and James Yip.

Understanding the patient’s experience of care in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Kimberley Burnett, Ian Glaspole, and Anne E. Holland

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13414

The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia (Source: Public Affairs, The Alfred)

Choosing the right mask for your Asian patient with sleep apnoea: A randomized, crossover trial of CPAP interfaces

Ken Junyang Goh, Rui Ya Soh, Leong Chai Leow, Song Tar Toh, Pei Rong Song, Ying Hao, Ken Cheah Hooi Lee, Gan Liang Tan, and Thun How Ong.

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13396

Example of a CPAP therapy mask for patients with OSA

Research Review

Australian Respiratory Research Review Issue 76

New Zealand Respiratory Research Review Issue 157

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.