Drs David SC Hui and PC Wong, Co-chairmen of the Organizing Committee
The Autumn Respiratory Seminar (ARS) 2005 was held successfully on November 6, 2005 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. In planning the scientific programme for the ARS 2005, the organising committee assembled a panel of local and overseas experts to share with our members recent advances in asthma epidemiology and treatment, sleep medicine, and mycobacterial infection.
Distinguished speakers from the steering committee of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) came from different parts of the world (including Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and presented the most updated information on asthma epidemiological studies. In addition, the world experts delivered state-of-the-art lectures on the management of asthma and allergies, from prevention to treatment. The seminar offered our participants a valuable chance to discuss with the renowned world experts in the field of asthma and allergies. A special concurrent symposium on respiratory diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including both the medical and surgical treatment of pneumothorax and CT imaging of respiratory medicine, was well attended by colleagues interested in these areas.
The symposium on sleep disorders, presented by our local experts in the field of sleep medicine, covered topics on craniofacial profiles in obstructive sleep apnoea, update on treatment and cardiovascular consequences of sleep disordered breathing, and non-respiratory sleep disorders. The symposium on mycobacterial diseases, including topics on mycobacteria other than tuberculosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-HIV infected patients and occupational tuberculosis, was well received by the participants. Although clashing in time with several other specialty meetings on the same day, the ARS 2005 attracted over 300 participants.
