Ventilation

With multiple national and international meetings taking place throughout the year, deciding which conferences to attend isn't always straightforward. While scientific programs are an important consideration, opportunities for networking, collaboration, career development and practical learning can be just as valuable. To help identify the meetings making the biggest impact across respiratory and pulmonary medicine and related specialties, we asked members of the touchRESPIRATORY community their non-negotiable conferences and what makes them worth attending.

Join us as leading experts discuss key data and perspectives from ATS 2026 The American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2026 International Conference brought together the latest research and clinical insights across respiratory medicine, highlighting advances in diagnosis, treatment and patient care. In this ...

Oxygen is an essential medicine, yet significant gaps remain in the assessment of hypoxemia and access to oxygen therapy worldwide. At the ATS International Conference 2026, the ATS International Health Committee brought together experts from diverse healthcare settings to discuss barriers to diagnosis, disparities in oxygen access and the challenges of delivering care across high-, middle- and low-income countries. In this interview, Richard Van Zyl-Smit reflects on the session's key discussions and the need for greater awareness, collaboration and investment to improve global lung health.

Respirology Reflections is our new, expert-led, practice pearls series delivering concise, actionable insights from leading experts in respiratory and pulmonary medicine. Designed to help healthcare professionals stay current, it highlights real-world challenges, emerging evidence, and actionable strategies to enhance clinical practice, strengthen decision-making, and build confidence in an increasingly complex and fast-evolving field.

Patient–ventilator synchrony is crucial for effective mechanical ventilation, yet asynchrony is common and often under-recognized, with early signs requiring careful waveform interpretation. In this Q&A, John Davies outlines practical approaches to identifying and managing asynchrony, highlighting missed patterns such as false triggering and cycle asynchrony, and offering strategies to troubleshoot triggering, inspiratory flow, and cycling issues, alongside considerations for sedation and ongoing patient assessment.

Liberation from mechanical ventilation is a critical step in intensive care, requiring careful clinical judgement to balance the risks of premature extubation with prolonged ventilatory support. In this Respirology Reflections Q&A, Dr Ouellette explores practical considerations for assessing readiness for extubation, including the role of spontaneous breathing trials, sedation management and identifying reversible causes of failure. Strategies to reduce the risk of reintubation, including post-extubation respiratory support, are also discussed to help guide decision-making in everyday ICU practice.

In this episode of Visionary Voices, we welcome Associate Professor Grace Vincent from CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute. A leading expert on sleep and shift work, Grace explores how disrupted sleep affects physician health in both the short and long term, as well as its impact on safety and performance. We also discuss what this means for patient outcomes and share practical strategies to manage sleep loss.

As touchRESPIRATORY approaches 10 years of providing education for busy respiratory specialists, we are looking to the future—and it certainly looks bright! This year, we are celebrating our inaugural touchRESPIRATORY Future Leaders to recognize the outstanding talent that has entered our field in recent years. These individuals are set to innovate and transform respiratory and pulmonary medicine in the years to come.

As touchRESPIRATORY approaches 10 years of providing education for busy respiratory specialists, we are looking to the future—and it certainly looks bright!