Lam Nguyen-Ho

First I would like to thank deeply the APSR committee for giving me the wonderful opportunity to receive the APSR / VNRS Young Investigator Award from APSR 2021 Congress. My full name is Lam Nguyen-Ho, a pulmonologist and a lecturer from University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. My abstract title was “Clinical characteristics of pulmonary melioidosis diagnosed at respiratory department of the tertiary hospital in Southern Vietnam”. The melioidosis is not a new condition, especially in endemic countries including Vietnam, induced by Burkholderia pseudomallei. However, an interesting feature is that although this condition was classified as an infectious disease, pulmonary melioidosis is the most common clinical manifestation. Therefore, many pulmonologists can see patients with this condition, but its diagnosis is not simple because it can present similar to severe community-acquired pneumonia in patients requiring hospital admission or similar to pulmonary tuberculosis. My study aimed to describe clinical clues to identify it from the perspective of a pulmonologist.

This was not the first time for me to attend the APSR Congress (the first APSR 2018 in Taiwan and the second APSR 2019 in Hanoi) but this was the first time for the virtual APSR Congress. I have obtained not only knowledge but also experience which is very amazing as follows:

Firstly, I would like to talk about knowledge which I have learned from this congress. Because there are so many interesting topics, I had focused on three topics; respiratory infection, interstitial lung disease (ILD), and lung cancer, which are directly associated with my clinical practice. The first symposium about the novel approaches on treatment of respiratory infectious disease described the usefulness of anti-interferon-gama auto-antibodies to treat patients with disseminated non-tuberculosis mycobacterium disease and the role of mesenchymal stem cells to survival of patients with infectious disease. The second topic relating to bronchial alveolar fluid (BAL) in patients with ILD, I have acquired more knowledge to approach ILD patients based on the liquid and cellular components of BAL. From the third symposium about lung cancer, I learned more new treatments. An interesting interpretation to current treatments of lung cancer is a home supported by five columns including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, precision therapy, and immunotherapy (figure 1) slightly different from previous treatments of lung cancer.

Figure 1
(Click image to enlarge)

Secondly, I would like to share my experiences from joining the virtual congress. It is amazing when you can stay at home and attend a virtual international specialized congress, because you have enough time and health to assimilate the new knowledge. I could attend interesting topics on time without wasting time looking for appropriate sessions, which is required when taking part in an on-site congress. Moreover, the timeline of every session was controlled strictly which was very impressive. On the other hand, attending the virtual congress did not give the opportunity to visit the magnificent Kyoto city, nor see the beauty of Japan in general. What a pity!

In conclusion, I would like to thank again the APSR who gave me this award and the opportunity to attend the wonderful congress.

Lam Nguyen-Ho