NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiopulmonary, sleep, and critical care experts from around the world will present the latest research related to clinical chest medicine during CHEST 2004, the multidisciplinary world congress on diseases of the chest, held October 23-28, in Seattle, WA.
The annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) will host 500 national and international experts and up-and-coming investigators as they present more than 800 cutting-edge research abstracts and case reports. Thousands of medical professionals will be on hand to attend more than 150 original scientific sessions, honor lectures, educational, and satellite symposia, covering a broad range of subspecialty topics, including sleep medicine, pediatric pulmonology, disaster medicine, pulmonary vascular disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiology, and critical care.
"CHEST 2004 is an exciting time for health-care professionals, for it provides a comprehensive look at the year's most significant developments in the field of chest medicine, as well as a prelude to new investigations that promise considerable changes in the future of medicine," said John Heffner, MD, FCCP, Program Chair, CHEST 2004.
Attendees also will have the option of attending 17 one-day, in-depth educational postgraduate sessions on a variety of topics, such as critical care, sleep and disaster medicine, and mechanical ventilation. Other special events and program highlights for clinical and research topics include:
-- Evidence-Based Guidelines - Researchers will present updated
information on previous ACCP evidenced-based guidelines related to
antithrombotic therapy and pulmonary hypertension, while further
sessions will preview soon-to-be published guidelines on cough,
cardiology, lung cancer, community-acquired pneumonia, aerosol, and
atrial fibrillation.
-- Disaster Medicine - Disaster response experts will discuss numerous
topics related to medical care during and after a disaster, including
the management and treatment of chemical, viral, and biological agents
and addressing the continuing post-disaster health-care issues.
Further presentations will center on the mechanisms and treatment for
inhalation exposure and the aspects of patient care during a power
failure or blackout.
-- Patient-Focused Care - Keynote speaker Edward F.X. Hughes, MD, MPH,
will discuss the complexities of the health-care system in the United
States and the impact on the physician's ability to provide patient-
focused care. As Professor of Health Industry Management and
Management and Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management and
Professor of Preventive Medicine in The Medical School, Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois, Dr. Hughes will share his extensive
experience and interest in the elaboration of a national health
policy, the efficient utilization of resources in the delivery of
health care, and the identification of possible future directions of
the US health-care system.
-- Medical Technology - Panelists will review the implementation process
for an electronic medical record system in their practices and discuss
the clinical use and research agenda for e-health applications and
future technology, regarding asthma, critical care, COPD, and home
mechanical ventilation.
-- Political Voices in Public Health - Mary C. Selecky, Secretary of the
Washington State Department of Health, will speak about her
significant work toward reducing tobacco use, while Washington State
Representative Jim McDermott will discuss the current issues in home
health care.
-- Sleep Medicine - An interactive session will explore sleep
disturbances as they relate to critical care, while panel discussions
will focus on how sleep-disordered breathing can affect driving,
work-related activities, and childhood school performance and
behavior.
-- Asthma - The sixth ACCP/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Community Asthma Coalition Symposium provides local asthma coalitions
with the opportunity to learn about ongoing and new asthma coalition
projects and to network with other coalition members regarding
programming, activity coordination, and funding initiatives.
Panelists will further discuss how to distinguish asthma from other
airway disorders, such as COPD and vocal cord dysfunction.
"CHEST 2004 gathers the most distinguished experts in chest medicine whose combined knowledge and experience have led to significant advances in pulmonary, sleep, and critical care medicine," said Richard S. Irwin, MD, FCCP, President of the American College of Chest Physicians. "Attendees will most certainly benefit from the numerous original research presentations, interactive sessions, and vigorous debates that will, ultimately, impact patient care in all specialties."
CHEST 2004 is the 70th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, held October 23-28 in Seattle, WA. ACCP represents 16,000 members who provide clinical respiratory, critical care, sleep, and cardiothoracic patient care in the United States and throughout the world. The ACCP's mission is to promote the prevention and treatment of diseases of the chest through leadership, education, research, and communication. For more information about the ACCP, please visit the ACCP Web site at http://www.chestnet.org/ .
American College of Chest PhysiciansCONTACT: Jennifer Stawarz, +1-847-498-8306, jstawarz@chestnet.org , orDanette Rapp, +1-202-955-6222, drapp@spectrumscience.com , both for ACCP
Web site: http://www.chestnet.org/
