Most visitors head to San Francisco to see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. But from May 18-21, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference was the city’s biggest draw.
ATS is a chance for scientists, researchers, and healthcare professionals to share the latest advancements in respiratory science, patient care, and global respiratory health. As one of the nation’s leading lung disease research centers and one of the most active locations for pulmonary care in the U.S., the Temple Lung Center had a considerable presence at the conference, with over 30 Lung Center faculty and fellows presenting in more than 50 sessions.
Gerard J. Criner, MD, FACP, FACCP, Director of the Temple Lung Center and Chair and Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, participated in two mini symposiums on clinical trials for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The first focused on the MAT-INEE phase 3 clinical trial, zeroing in on analyses of how mepolizumab impacted COPD patients’ lung function and the severity of their disease. The second presented results from the Airflow-3 clinical trial to determine how targeted lung denervation exacerbated COPD.
Other notable sessions included a mini symposium on bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) hosted by Nathaniel Marchetti, DO, Medical Director of the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit at Temple University Hospital and Professor of Thoracic Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Dr. Marchetti’s findings suggested that examining changes in residual volume (RV)/total lung capacity may be a better physiological marker of improvement in patient outcomes than measuring absolute RV following BLVR.
Rohit Gupta, MD, Director of the Sarcoidosis Program at Temple University Hospital and Associate Professor of Thoracic Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, led an ultra-popular “Meet the Expert” session on pulmonary sarcoidosis, talking through questions he often faces during condition management and reviewing real-world patient scenarios.
Second-year Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellow Krunal Patel, MD built upon data he originally presented at the CHEST 2024 Conference in Boston during a discussion session. Dr. Patel presented FLASH registry data used to assess the impact of medical thrombectomy (MT) on outcomes for patients with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolisms (PEs). He found that PE patients who were treated with MT within 12 hours of hospital admission had significantly better outcomes than patients treated more than 12 hours after admission.
The Temple Lung Center’s Key Account Management and Marketing teams also staffed a booth in the conference’s exhibit hall showcasing Temple Health’s most recent achievements in science, patient care, and global respiratory health, and advertising the GOLD Conference taking place later this year. The Lung Center also hosted a networking reception for faculty and alumni to celebrate the research and accomplishments presented at this year’s meeting.
To see all the sessions Temple Lung Center faculty and fellows participated in during ATS, visit the Center’s website.