CHEST: American College of Chest Physicians Annual Meeting

The molecular heterogeneity of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may be important when selecting treatment strategies, including 2 new medications for delaying the progression of IPF-pirfenidone and nintedanib. In a featured lecture, Steven K. Huang, MD, an expert in IPF and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, discussed characterization of the disease from the perspective of genetics.

The big news at the 2014 CHEST meeting in Austin, TX, was that 2 new drugs - pirfenidone and nintedanib - were approved to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to Steven Nathan, MD, medical director of the Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA.

Guidelines for the treatment of healthcare-associated pneumonia recommend the use of broad-spectrum therapy. But based on current evidence, use of broad-spectrum therapy may not be warranted, according to Marcos I. Restrepo, MD, MSc, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

In this session, Gerard A. Silvestri MD, MS, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, discussed the evolution of therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The use of targeted therapies has led to a dramatic improvement in survival for a certain subset of patients with NSCLC whose cancers have specific driver mutations.

Lung cancer is a good candidate for broad, population-based screening because it is a common disease with a high mortality rate that is often more successfully treated when a diagnosis is established early in the disease process. In an educational session, Gerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, discussed the state of the art in lung cancer screening.

Check out photos from this year's conference in Atlanta, GA, which took place from October 20-25. The meeting was held at the Georgia World Congress Center, which sits between CNN headquarters and the Georgia Dome.

Robert De Marco, MD, FCCP, Intensivist, Orlando Health, Dr. Phillips Hospital, says that a concern for reimbursement in the ICU is that many private physicians are becoming hospital employed. He says that convincing the hospital they need full-time critical care coverage is a difficult task even though it saves cost and cuts down length of stay and mortalities.

Brian Carlin, MD, FCCP, Allegheny General Hospital, states that there are many challenges in providing pulmonary rehabilitation to patients with chronic lung diseases.

Although there has been a concentrated focus on pulmonary vascular diseases at this year's CHEST conference, there have also been a number of studies released that pertain to cardiovascular events, such as congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Here are some of the highlights in these areas.

As one might expect, lung cancer is one of the major focuses at each CHEST conference. The following are highlights from this year's recently released abstracts and late-breaking studies.

Although there have been a wide variety of disease states covered at this year's CHEST conference, much of the focus has been on those under the umbrella of pulmonary vascular disease, such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and deep vein thrombosis. Here are some of the new study highlights related to pulmonary vascular disease.

Jun Chiong, MD, MPH, FACC, FCCP, Associate Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center, states the US healthcare system does not utilize a team-based approach.

Robert Frantz, MD, FACC, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, Mayo Clinic, says that the issue of cost is an important factor in treating patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The following are highlights of abstracts that focus on readmission rates, an increasingly important subject for hospitals that are subject to evolving rules and regulations as they relate to reimbursement.

Craig Lilly, MD, Professor of Medicine, Anesthesiology and Surgery, Director, UMass Memorial eICU Program, says that technologies must be integrated as well as embraced by the workforce.

The CHEST 2012 meeting features a number of newly published studies for a wide variety of disease states ranging from tuberculosis to lung disease. The following are highlights of hypertension abstracts.

Edward Zawada, MD, MACP, Vice President of Scientific Affairs, Medical Director, Intensivist Program, Medical Director, eICU Program, Avera Medical Group Nephrology, says that the Tele-Intensive Care Program provides the skill set required to care for critically ill patients.

Robert Frantz, MD, FACC, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, Mayo Clinic, discusses the rate of bloodstream infections in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension treated with Veletri. Dr Franz also talks about the PROSPECT registry analysis.

Cost has been front of mind for many researchers that have released new study data at CHEST 2012. Here are some of the highlights from the new research.

Brian Carlin, MD, FCCP, Allegheny General Hospital, discusses the challenges in reducing 30-day readmission rates, specifically as they apply to congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and COPD. The biggest challenge is setting up a coordinated team care effort, says Dr Carlin.

Hundreds of new abstracts were published for CHEST 2012. Here are some of the highlights around the topic of quality of life as they relate to various disease states.