THIS MONTH'S FOCUS:
2016 ANNUAL MEETING & SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS WRAP UP
(PDF VERSION)
IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Reflections on the 36th ISHLT Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, Washington DC 2016
Allan Glanville, MBBS, MD, FRACP
Meaningful reflections on past events usually demand a considerable passage of time to allow impressions and thoughts to be balanced. However, these reflections are provided almost immediately following the 36th Annual Meeting due to the tight timelines required by the LINKS Task Master, Vincent Valentine. Although some may demur, perhaps it is better done quickly than not done at all! Let us start with the extraordinary increase in registered delegates to the meeting, which for the first time ever threatened the 4000 mark. The increase was evidenced across a number of disciplines. Quite simply, if you did not take your seat prior to a session, there was often standing room only which serves to emphasise just how interested delegates were in the scientific sessions. Read more →
FOCUSING ON THE ANNUAL MEETING:
Your ISHLT President Reaches Out
Maryl Johnson, MD
I have just returned home from Washington, D. C. and the largest ISHLT meeting ever. Although I am tired and it will take a few days to recover, I can still feel the energy that was generated by being together to share both scientifically and personally. I would like to congratulate Andy Fisher, Duane Davis and the 2016 Program Committee for all of their efforts (which made the meeting successful beyond belief!). And we all know that the meeting could not occur without the tireless efforts of the ISHLT Staff including Amanda Rowe, Susie Newton, Lisa Edwards, Megan Barrett, Phyllis Glenn and Lee Ann Mills. Please pass on your thanks and appreciation to them as well. As many of you know, I have selected Jeff Teuteberg to be Program Chair for the 2017 Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego and although the 2016 meeting will be a tough act to follow, with the help of our Councils and Members, we promise to provide you with another great opportunity to learn, grow professionally, and connect with colleagues from around the world. Read more →
A Few Thoughts...Looking Back at ISHLT 2016
Tereza Martinu, MD
What a whirlwind! It sure seemed like a very busy ISHLT meeting last week. Was it because there were more interesting sessions than ever before? Did it just feel that way because the attendance was so great and the rooms were full and buzzing with excitement? Maybe both? Whichever it may be, this ISHLT meeting was memorable. Vincent Valentine is after me to put some thoughts on paper for this Links Newsletter: here are some that come to mind:
Thought #1 - Pushing the limits: If I had to think of one phrase to represent this ISHLT meeting, it would be "pushing the limits". This theme seemed to permeate every session. Can we further prolong the time between death and donation for DCD organs? Read more →
ISHLT Summary
David Nelson, MD
The week in Washington provided outstanding information for heart transplanters starting with Jon Kobashigawa's Palomar Conference. The 2016 ISHLT meeting produced similarly great content via pre-meeting symposia, the Heart Allocation meeting and the concurrent sessions. This brief review does not cover the Academies.
PALOMAR
The conference can be summarized by the message given in Kathryn Tinckam's pre-meeting symposium presentation: those choices made regarding thresholds for "avoids", desensitization and treatment of DSA were decisions not to be made based on a single test result, but should include consideration of:
Read more →
Bugs, Drugs, and Beyond: Highlights of the 36th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions from the Transplant Infectious Diseases Vantage Point
Stephanie Pouch, MD
In contrast to the DC weather that greeted us this year, the ISHLT Annual Meeting was anything but damp and dreary. We were met by a myriad of exciting sessions, which were not only highly relevant to the field of transplant ID, but showcased the incredible worldwide interdisciplinary work undertaken by the ISHLT. This made my current task of summarizing the Meeting's ID-related highlights an absolute pleasure, but a challenging one. While it is impossible to summarize all of the presentations in a few short paragraphs, there were several permeating themes worthy of recapitulation. Read more →
Summary of ISHLT 2016 JFTC Focus
Jorge Silva Enciso, MD
The 36th ISHLT meeting was success in diversity of presenters discussing their work. The major themes from this year sessions focused on LVAD complications. An enormous recognition went to those adverse events that affect outcomes, particularly stroke, right heart failure and device infections. Between both types of LVAD currently on the market (HeartMate and HeartWare), both continue to show high rates of stroke associated with high mortality from hemorrhagic CVA. Even though technology today is far better than earlier devices of yesterday, the drivers for these events are still unclear. Regarding right heart failure (RHF), a new concept was introduce quantifying the spectrum of RHF risk based on duration of inotropic support and its relationship to outcomes. Those with prolonged inotropic support (≥ 21 days) or unplanned RVAD had an increased mortality at 3 and 6 months. Read more →
ISHLT 2016 Re-cap: Looking Back, Peering Forwards
John Dark, MB, FRCS
"The Best Ever Meeting" - Stephan Schueler
"The Very Best Society" - Hermann Reichenspurner
Quotes from two ex-Presidents, encapsulating what many thought about 2016, Washington and the ISHLT. The Programme Chair and Committee built on previous experience, but used the site, a bit more money and a lot of imagination to put together an event of unparalleled splendor. Great plenaries, with a good mixture of science, politics and entertainment. Well-chosen and well-paced sessions; there was always something good to see and hear. And a huge audience, approaching 4000 registrants, a clear record for the Society. Lots of posters, maybe not all receiving the attention they deserved, but it gets people through the doors, backsides on seats. The result was a constant buzz- old friends, new ideas, fresh views; innovations at every turn. Read more →
Comments on the Pediatric Sessions of ISHLT 2016
Martin Schweiger, MD
The Pediatric program at the 2016 scientific session remains memorable for its high interests with standing room only space in some of the sessions. Plenty of delegates made it to the pediatric heart transplant outcome session on Thursday morning. There the Edmonton group presented their study investigating quality of life after pediatric heart transplantation (pHTx). While the authors found that the quality of life assessed by the parents in children was not only lower compared to children without chronic conditions it was surprisingly also lower when compared to congenital heart disease (CHD) patients and patients after single ventricle palliation. Read more →
Inflammation, Combination Therapy Debates, Sport Model-ECMO, and Unflappable Oratory - Pulmonary Hypertension Highlights From the 2016 ISHLT Scientific Sessions
Amresh Raina, MD
The 2016 ISHLT Scientific Sessions were a virtual 'tour de force' encompassing essentially all diagnostic categories of PH. Kicking off the sessions were two pre-meeting symposia on PH in interstitial lung disease and PH in left heart disease, culminating in a lively debate regarding the utility of the diastolic pulmonary gradient to assess for pulmonary vasculopathy in left heart-related PH. New this year was an entire symposium on the physiology of inflammation and inflammatory cytokines in PAH and the impact of metabolic and neurohormonal alterations on right heart function. This reopened a debate on the potential benefits of neurohormonal modulation with beta-adrenergic blockers in PAH. Combination therapy has been the focus of a major paradigm shift in the treatment of PAH, but there remain many nuances regarding specific combinations of drugs, and the timing of their initiation. Read more →
ISHLT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Call for ISHLT 2017 Symposium Proposals
Jeff Teuteberg, MD
ISHLT 2017 Scientific Program Chair
Although the 36th Annual Meeting in Washington DC has just finished, it is already time to start developing content for the ISHLT 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions to be held in sunny San Diego, April 5-8, 2017. As program chair for the 2017 meeting, I just wanted to follow up on my brief presentation at the council meetings and encourage you to submit ideas for pre-meeting and sunrise symposia and/or invited Plenary talks. Although well-worked, complete symposium proposals are preferred, we also welcome suggestions for potential plenary speakers from outside the transplant community who might give an engaging talk that brings perspectives, insights or experiences with widespread appeal to members. Read more →
2016 Annual Meeting: Daily Links
For those who missed the meeting, are looking for a recap or just want to refresh your memory, the Daily Links can be a valuable source. View the articles written by our Roving Reporters, Michael Trotter, Karen Booth, Erin Wells and Zewditu Asfaw, and put together by Vincent Valentine, Lauren Daniels and Naomi Rios for an up to date guide on the daily happenings of the 36th ISHLT Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions. Read more →
ISHLT Award Winners & Grant Recipients
Congratulations to all of our Award Winners, including Sir Roy Calne who received the ISHLT Pioneer Award, and Adrian & Jean Kantrowitz, who received the ISHLT Lifetime Achievement Award. We would also like to extend congratulations to the winners of the abstract awards, grants & scholarships, and travel awards that were announced during the Saturday Plenary Session. Read more to see a complete list of the award winners from this presentation. Read more →
EDITOR'S CORNER:
The Day the Music Died
Maryanne Chrisant, MD
Vincent Valentine, MD
It was Don McLean, who..."A long long time ago..." immortalized the words for the title of this piece for all who know the lyrics, a recapitulation of the early Rock and Roll movement in America.
It's my new friend and co-writer of this piece, Maryanne Chrisant - Director of Pediatric Cardiac Transplant, Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy at the Heart Institute at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, who summoned my subconscious to provide you these thoughts. All attendees of the ISHLT 2016 may have noticed the sprinkling words from David Bowie and Prince. Read more →
""We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present."
— Adlai E. Stevenson
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Disclaimer: Any opinion, conclusion or recommendation published by the Links is the sole expression of the writer(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ISHLT.