The second Adult Critical Care Core Curriculum session at the ATS 2026 International Conference will focus on the latest guidance from clinical trials and studies on mechanical ventilation from 2:15 p.m.–3:45 p.m. ET on Monday, May 18, in Room W224C (Level II, OCCC West Concourse) of the Orange County Convention Center.
“The idea of all these chosen topics was to provide current and important information regarding mechanical ventilation, a very important part in critical care,” said Javier Diaz-Mendoza, MD, ATSF, associate professor of medicine at Henry Ford Hospital-Wayne State University, and co-chair of the Critical Care Core Curriculum. “There are important publications that have come out lately that influence the management of patients who require mechanical ventilation in the ICU, and that was the main objective for us in planning the combined sessions.”
The second and final session in this series will offer a deep dive into the key components of the invasive mechanical ventilator itself, including how to optimally protect patients’ lungs and get them through respiratory failure, how to manage potential complications, and safe approaches for getting patients off the ventilator.
“These cohesive topics are oftentimes the nexus of where the decision-making lies,” said Edward Kilb, MD, ATSF, associate professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, and co-chair of the Critical Care Core Curriculum. “It’s an exciting set of sessions because this is where the art of medicine comes in for the practitioner — be it a physician, advanced practice provider, or trainee — along with the melding of much recent evidence-based data which has come out in this particular portion of the decision tree.
The primary objective of the first presentation, “Lung Protective Ventilation Targets and Optimization of PEEP,” is to help recognize protective targets in mechanical ventilation that optimize oxygenation and ventilation in patients, and to discuss different lung-protection strategies. Elias Baedorf Kassis, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will share updates and recommendations from new studies and clinical trials.
The second speaker, Sandra E. Zaeh, MD, assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, will address how clinicians can identify various dyssynchronies and how to prevent and manage the potential complications in her presentation, Dyssynchronies and Complications of Mechanical Ventilation.”
In the final presentation, “Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation: When and How?,” Maryam Kaous, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at McGovern Medical School, UT Health, will address factors involved in the timing and process of weaning a patient from a ventilator and important considerations that lead to a successful extubation.
The last time the core curriculum focused on respiratory failure was before the COVID-19 pandemic, when practitioners were able to study and learn to optimize many respiratory supportive modalities.
“All of these topics in both sessions really hit close to home as these are high-leverage decisions in the ICU, which is what makes this information truly core to what we do,” said Dr. Kilb.
Speakers and the co-chairs will also provide insights to support physicians’ Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credentials, including prospective questions to help with certification and recertification requirements.
The first session of the Critical Care Core Curriculum, which focused on optimal modalities for respiratory support in the ICU, took place on Sunday afternoon.
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