APSR Newsletter

An APSR Executive Meeting was held two separate days in conjunction with Asthma Consensus Meeting in Singapore.

The APSR Executive Committee held its annual business meeting in Singapore on July 26 & 27, 1997. The agenda of the meeting focused on solutions to pressing issues and allowed ample time for detailed discussion on a wide range of topics which included: essential changes of the Society Charter and Bylaws, review of the financial health of the Society, membership drives, the journal Respirology and the Newsletter, the APSR Congress (Sydney in 1998 and Florence in 2000), our relationship and collaboration with other international societies such as the ATS, ERS and IUATLD. All present came away with the satisfaction that many problems had been resolved and decisions taken on major issues concerning the Society.

A one-day workshop on asthma guidelines was held on July 25, 1997 prior to the Executive Meeting in Singapore. This was initiated since it was obvious to country members of the Asia-Pacific region that there was a need for a forum to discuss in depth complex issues that could influence asthma comanagement in countries of the Asia-Pacific region. These countries range from the very affluent to the least affluent where competition for limited health care resources exists at a basic level, where healthcare systems vary from a fully nationalized comprehensive system to one with significant shares of privatized medical care; where the doctor/patient relationship may vary from transient to long-term, where popularity of unconventional or traditional medicine may influence management plans. A bringing together of an expert panel of 34 doctors from institutional, private and general practices in 12 countries of the region would provide the opportunity to explore similarities and differences of practice in an attempt to resolve problems in the implementation of guidelines.

The specific aims of the one day workshop were:

1. to construct practical algorithms for asthma management, based on different types (and levels of sophistication) of healthcare systems
2. to attempt consensus on major issues
3. to develop APSR position papers for presentation, and
4. to initiate collaborative studies using standardized APSR study protocols to evaluate the outcome of implementation of the algorithms.

The proceedings of the workshop consisted of:

1. a review of the published Australian, British and Global Initiative For Asthma (GINA) guidelines
2. brief presentation of the current asthma management guidelines (AMGs) of all countries of the region with highlights on the country workshop groups to facilitate discussion and to attempt consensus.

It was not possible to achieve all the aims in one day, but the main problems were identified and some resolutions for future strategies in improving asthma care and information were made. The detailed APSR statements on asthma management will be published in a forthcoming issued of the Society's journal Respirology.

Wan-Cheng Tan, M.D.
National University of Singapore

The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) is the professional and scientific Society in Australasia which represents the interests of respiratory disease. The discipline of thoracic medicine as a distinct branch of internal medicine began in Australasia in the 1940's when the interests of tuberculosis physicians expanded progressively to include the full spectrum of respiratory disease. The TSANZ now has over 900 members, comprising practicing respiratory physicians, thoracic surgeons, respiratory scientists, respiratory nurses, and physicians specializing in sleep-related respiratory disorders.

Planning for the 5th APSR Congress 9-12 October 1998

Scientific Program

Committees

Inquiries about the 5th APSR Congress 1998

Other activities of the National Society

1. Scientific conferences on bronchial asthma, pulmonary function, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome were held separately in May and August, 1997 in China. Guidelines for managing bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, (COPD) were discussed.
2. Meeting of subspecialties of pulmonology; such as: sleep respiratory disorders, infections of the respiratory tract and interstitial diseases, and lung cancer, will be held separately in Beijing, Shanghai, and Dalian in 1998 under the auspices of the Chinese Society of Respirology.
3. The 10th World Congress on "TOBACCO OR HEALTH" was held in Beijing in August, 1997. It was reported that there are 300 million people smoking in China, and that the increment of the consumption of cigarettes in China from 1970 to 1990 was 260%. President of China, Mr. Jiang Ze-min attended the World Congress and made an address, indicating that the Chinese government and the community have fully recognized the harmful condition of smoking. Ten Chinese cities declared that no tobacco advertisements would be allowed in those cities. The serious condition of the Asia-Pacific region was also discussed. Elimination of smoking for a more healthy world needs more cooperation in this area.

The plenary congress of Chinese Society of Respirology will be held in the year 2000; however, the exact date has not been fixed. The President of the Congress for Respirology in China is Professor Yuan-Jue Zhu of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

Wei-Ci Luo, M.D.
Peking Union Medical College
President, APSR

On the 8th of August 1997, the Malaysian Thoracic Society (MTS) held its 7th annual general meeting, and new office bearers were elected for the year 1997/1998. The new office bearers are:

Year 1996 and the first half of 1997 has seen the MTS organizing many major activities. MTS guidelines on the management of adult asthma were received and endorsed by Ministry of Health of Malaysia and also the Academy of Medicine. Talks were held in most states of Malaysia in order to disseminate this guideline as widely as possible.

A new committee was set up headed by Prof. Zainuddin to look into the feasibility of preparing a guideline for the management of chronic obstructive airways disease in Malaysia.

The MTS also produced its first newsletter recently entitled "Paru Paru", which in English means "The Lung". It is intended to be issued quarterly.

The major events of the year were the Asthma Camp in May 1997 and the weekend course on "Chronic Respiratory Failure and Sleep Disordered Breathing in Adults and Children" in July l997. For the asthma camp organized in Port Dickson, one of the most popular beach towns of Malaysia, over 100 asthma patients and parents of children with asthma signed up for 2 days of educational asthma activities. For the weekend course MTS invited four speakers from overseas namely Dr. Stephen Spiro from London, Prof. Collin Sullivan and Dr. Peter Cistulli from Sydney and Dr. Stephen Stick from Perth. It was a very successful meeting attended by more than 120 participants.

The next MTS activity will be the Combined Scientific Meeting of Malaysian and Singapore Thoracic Societies that will be held in Singapore in March l998.

Aziah Ahmad Mahayiddin, M.D.
President, MTS
Kuala Lumpur Hospital
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Japan Society of Chest Diseases (JSCD) has been applying to become an officially chartered academic organization approved by the Ministry of Education of Japan. In order to facilitate this movement, the JSCD has adopted a new society name as of April 10, 1997. The new name is the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS).

The JRS will hold its 38th Annual Meeting from March 30 to April 1, 1998 in Kumamoto, Japan. The meeting will be organized under the presidency of Professor Masayuki Ando of Kumamoto University School of Medicine.

The 3rd APSR Workshop will be held on March 31, 1998 in conjunction with the JRS annual meeting. Two distinguished scientists will give special lectures. Five young investigators will be nominated from within the APSR membership countries to give general presentations. Main themes to be addressed in this workshop are:

1. The frontiers of research in respirology in each country.
2. Exotic infections or environmental pollution which may be related to traveler's diseases.

Yoshinosuke Fukuchi, M.D.
Chairman of IRC, JRS
Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan

American Lung Association (AJA)
American Thoracic Society (ATS)

European Respiratory Society (ERS)

Annual dues

APSR Secretariat in Tokyo

On behalf of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, we write to express our deep regret and sadness on learning of the death of Professor Kenneth Moser.

Professor Moser was not only a great supporter and founder advisor of the APSR but a dear friend and colleague. The pulmonary world has lost one of its great leaders.

In 1985, Professor Moser was enthusiastic and supportive of the concept starting a new society of respiratory medicine in the Asia-Pacific region, with the primary aim of addressing the special needs in research and clinical practice of the countries involved. Together with Dr. John Murray, he gave the fledging society invaluable advice and brought in the support of the American Thoracic Society of which he was then President. For this and for his continuing help to the APSR, we owe him lasting gratitude. Professor Moser was a member of the International Editorial Board of the APSR Society Journal Respirology.

March 30-April 1, 1998
APSR Workshop during the JRS 38th Congress (Kumamoto, Japan)

April 24-29, 1998
ALA/ATS International Conference (Chicago, IL USA)

September 19-23, 1998
ERS meeting (Geneva Switzerland)

October 9-12, 1998
5th APSR Congress (Sydney, Australia)

December 10-13, 1998
World Asthma meeting (Barcelona, Spain)

August 30-September 3, 2000
6th APSR Congress / World Lung Health Conference (Florence, Italy)

(as of September 1, 1997)