The Pulmonary Hypertension Resource Network (PHRN) is “the nurses, respiratory therapists, technicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who serve as the medical support network for people dealing with this devastating disease.” They are all part of Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) and do everything from enhancing communication among PH medical professionals to facilitating and conducting professional development, research, and education. The 3rd PHRN Symposium will take place from October 11 to 13, 2007, just outside of Washington DC in Crystal City, Virginia. Produced by and for allied health professionals working in PH and involving many leading PH specialists, it’s a rare educational opportunity for PH nurses and other allied health professionals. Now a biennial event, almost 500 attendees are expected at the symposium. Refer to page 88 of this issue for more details on this exciting event.
Elsewhere in this issue you will see an announcement encouraging physicians to refer patients to local support groups or, if there are none in the area, to have their centers work with PHA to start one. Support groups can put patients and caregivers in touch to share experiences and learn more about PH, and can even create the sparks needed to raise money for PHA, which uses the funds for research, travel scholarships to meetings for patients, and educational programs. If you are not connected to a support group, you and your patients are missing out!
I would like to thank Srinivas Murali, MD, the lead Guest Editor for this issue, who was charged with coordinating and overseeing the content, and Ioana Preston, MD, who assisted Dr Murali. They have done an outstanding job in getting together an impressive team of writers who together have produced an informative collection of manuscripts and a Roundtable covering the difficult challenges of surgery in patients with PH.
Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Guest Editor’s Note: This issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension deals with a potpourri of important clinical surgical considerations in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Both surgical treatment options for PAH and medical management of PAH patients undergoing general surgery are reviewed, with a focus on providing physicians with practical clinical guidelines for patient care. Drs Dana McGlothlin and Teresa De Marco have summarized the preoperative risk assessment and postoperative management of PAH patients undergoing general surgical procedures, examining the predictors of good and poor clinical outcome and providing clinical pointers that every physician should know. Dr Reda Girgis and his colleagues have clearly defined the selection criteria and timing of referral of PAH patients for lung transplantation, while updating everyone on the new UNOS lung allocation scoring system. Finally, Drs Michael Madani and Stuart Jamieson share their institutions’ phenomenal, robust experience with pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for patients affected by chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), emphasizing that surgery remains the only option for these patients. A panel discussion with both medical and surgical experts highlights their viewpoint on how physicians should confront the challenges they face when their PAH patients are being considered for general surgical procedures. Discussion of this subject matter is undoubtedly timely as PAH patients are surviving longer and physicians are increasingly challenged by these clinical issues related to their care.
Srinivas Murali, MD
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Summer 2007, Vol. 6, No. 2
Editor-in-Chief Richard Channick, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
Pulmonary and Critical Care Division
University of California, San Diego Medical Center
San Diego, California
Immediate Past Editor Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Director, Liu Center for Pulmonary Hypertension
LA Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Editor-in-Chief Elect Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD
Director, Pulmonary
Hypertension Center, Columbia University Medical Center Associate
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics (in Medicine)
Associate Editors
Kristin Highland, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine
Medical University Of Carolina
Francisco Soto, MD, MS
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Todd Bull, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Robert Schilz, DO, PhD
Medical Director of Lung
Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Disease
University Hospital of Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Publisher
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Carl Hicks, Board Chair
Rino Aldrighetti, President
Sherrie Borden, Vice President, Medical and Patient Education
Publishing Staff Managing Editor
Deborah L. McBride
McBride Strategic Services
mcbridedeb@aol.com
P: 773-348-5455
C: 312-307-5455
Design Director
Michael McClain
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is circulated to
cardiologists, pulmonologists, rheumatologists and other selected
physicians by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. The contents of the articles are independently determined by the Editor
and the Editorial Advisory Board.
Editorial Mission Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is committed
to help physicians in their clinical decision
making by informing them of important
trends affecting their practice. Analyzing the
impact of new findings and covering current
information in the peer-reviewed literature,
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is published
four times a year. Advances in Pulmonary
Hypertension is the official journal
of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
Each article in this journal has been reviewed
and approved by members of the Editorial
Advisory Board.
Editorial Board
Charles Burger, MD
Medical Director, PH Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL
Karen Fagan, M.D. Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine University of South Alabama
Eli Gabbay, MD
Lung Transplant Unit
Royal Perth Hospital
Nick Kim, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of California San Diego
Deborah Jo Levine, M.D.
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
Omar Minai, MD
Dept of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Myung Park, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Fernando Torres, MD Director Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
UTSW Medical Center Dallas
University Hospital
Glenna Traiger, RN, MSN
Pulmonary & Critical Care
Pulmonary Hypertension CNS
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
R. James White, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology & Physiology
University of Rochester, Division of Pulmonary and CCM
Roham Zamanian, MD
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Stanford University Medical Center
The
information provided on the PHA website is provided for general information
only. It is not intended as legal, medical or other professional
advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations
with qualified professionals who are familiar with your individual
needs.
The Pulmonary Hypertension Resource Network (PHRN) is “the nurses, respiratory therapists, technicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who serve as the medical support network for people dealing with this devastating disease.” They are all part of Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) and do everything from enhancing communication among PH medical professionals to facilitating and conducting professional development, research, and education. The 3rd PHRN Symposium will take place from October 11 to 13, 2007, just outside of Washington DC in Crystal City, Virginia. Produced by and for allied health professionals working in PH and involving many leading PH specialists, it’s a rare educational opportunity for PH nurses and other allied health professionals. Now a biennial event, almost 500 attendees are expected at the symposium. Refer to page 88 of this issue for more details on this exciting event.
