According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent national data, over 25 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma. The Pulmonary Adult Clinical Core Curriculum at the ATS 2023 International Conference is designed to address some of the most relevant issues impacting patients with the disease.

The first session will be held on Wednesday, May 24, from 10–11:30 a.m. ET in Hall E (Level 2) of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, followed by the second session from noon–1:30 p.m.

“We felt that asthma was an important topic to tackle this year because there have been some changes to asthma guidelines, as well as the development of some new targeted biological therapies,” said Pulmonary Core Curriculum Session Co-Chair Josalyn Cho, MD. “The topics of these sessions will span from the everyday, straightforward considerations of asthma to the most difficult cases to manage.”

Attendees will leave these sessions able to describe updates in the diagnosis and management of mild, moderate, and severe asthma in 2023; identify the local and global impact of one’s environment on asthma management; and recognize the latest best practices for asthma management in pregnant and postpartum women.

“Climate change is obviously something that comes up a lot in the news, and it’s really important to think about how that’s affecting not just the environment, but people’s health,” Pulmonary Core Curriculum Session Co-Chair Garth Garrison, MD, said. “As the climate changes, we need to be thinking about how increasing wildfires, severe storms, and other environmental impacts are going to affect patients with asthma.”

The sessions will also cover inequalities in care for patients with asthma. “It’s really foundational to asthma care to talk about the impact of disparities based on class or race and how that impacts patients’ access and quality of care,” Dr. Garrison said.

Featured presentations for session one include:

• Everyday Asthma: Updates to the Diagnosis, Classification, and Management of Mild to Moderate Asthma, Jeffrey Barry, MD, MPH, University of California San Diego
• Stepping on the Pedal: Approaches to the Management of Severe and Uncontrolled Asthma, Lauren Eggert, MD, Stanford University
• Exasperating Exacerbations: Management of Severe Asthma Exacerbations, Mary Clare McGregor, MD, Washington University School of Medicine

Featured presentations for session two include:

• Asthma Where We Live and Work: The Impact of Environmental Change on Asthma Control, Nicholas J. Nassikas, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Inequities in Asthma Care: Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Disparities in Asthma Management, Ann M. Rusk, MD, Mayo Clinic
• An ICS for Two: Treating Asthma in the Prenatal and Perinatal Settings, Elizabeth K. Batchelor, MD, MEd, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, and Banner University Medical Center

This session and the International Conference are supported by an independent medical educational grant from Chiesi USA, Inc. All CME sessions have been planned and implemented in accordance with the Accreditation Criteria of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) and are free of the control of ineligible companies (formerly commercial interests).