The European Respiratory Journal

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Handbook of Respiratory Medicine, now in its third edition, is a concise, compact and easy-to-read guide to each of the key areas in respiratory medicine. Its 20 sections, written by clinicians and researchers at the forefront of the field, explain the structure and function of the respiratory system, its disorders and how to treat them. The Handbook is a must-have for anyone who intends to remain up to date in the field, and to have within arm's reach a reference that covers everything from the basics to the latest developments in respiratory medicine.

The 19 sections of this second edition of the ERS Handbook of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine cover the whole spectrum of paediatric respiratory medicine, from anatomy and development to disease, rehabilitation and treatment. The editors have brought together leading clinicians to produce a thorough and easy-to-read reference tool. The Handbook is structured to accompany the paediatric HERMES syllabus, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in this field and an ideal educational training guide.

Over the last decade, the volume of research into the pathophysiology and genetics of pulmonary diseases has increased greatly. This has led to the development of new treatments and therapies for many diseases, including lung cancer, asthma and cystic fibrosis. This issue of the ERS Monograph comprehensively demonstrates the developments in respiratory medicine in recent years. It outlines the importance of epidemiology in respiratory medicine, and will prove a methodological tool that will help disease management. It should also be used as an advocacy tool for the sake of public health.

This Monograph provides the general respiratory physician with a working reference based on the latest literature and expert opinion. The initial chapter provides a contemporaneous global perspective of the epidemiology of occupational and environmental lung diseases in an ever-evolving landscape. The book then goes on to consider specific occupational lung diseases. Each chapters has a clear clinical focus and considers: key questions to ask in the history; appropriate investigations to undertake; differential diagnoses; and management. Controversies or diagnostic conundrums encountered in the clinic are also considered, and further chapters are more broadly centred on the non-workplace environment; specifically, the respiratory symptoms and diseases associated with both the outdoor and indoor environments.

Edited by Antonio Anzueto, Yvonne Heijdra and John R. Hurst COPD is one of the most common diseases worldwide and is projected to be the third leading cause of death by 2020. But that does not mean it is easy to understand or manage. In everyday practice, pulmonologists face areas of controversy in COPD, for which evidence-based medicine is often unavailable. This ERS Monograph considers where the current controversies in COPD lie, discussing areas such as screening, premature birth, asthma–COPD overlap syndrome, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. This book will be of great interest to both clinicians and scientists, and aims to stimulate further discussion about this diverse and fascinating disease. "...contains a vast amount of information on the disease, its prevalence, signs and symptoms, diagnositc tests and treatment options. The book's format makes it quick and simple to find out what you need to know, and its size would make it easy to take to work for use in practice [...] invaluable for anyone working with patients with the disease." Emma Vincent, Nursing Standard

In the last 10 years, the use of clinical exercise testing in respiratory medicine has grown significantly and, if used in the appropriate context, it has been demonstrated to provide clinically useful and relevant information. However, as its implementation and interpretation can be complicated, it should be used alongside previous medical evaluation (including medical history, physical examination and other appropriate complementary tests) and should be interpreted with the results of these additional tests in mind. This timely ERS Monograph aims to provide a comprehensive update on the contemporary uses of exercise testing to answer clinically relevant questions in respiratory medicine. The book covers: equipment and measurements; exercise testing in adults and children; cardiac diseases; interstitial lung disease; pulmonary vascular disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; pre-surgical testing; and much more.

Severe asthma is a form of asthma that responds poorly to currently available medication, and its patients represent those with greatest unmet needs. In the last 10 years, substantial progress has been made in terms of understanding some of the mechanisms that drive severe asthma; there have also been concomitant advances in the recognition of specific molecular phenotypes. This ERS Monograph covers all aspects of severe asthma – epidemiology, diagnosis, mechanisms, treatment and management – but has a particular focus on recent understanding of mechanistic heterogeneity based on an analytic approach using various ‘omics platforms applied to clinically well-defined asthma cohorts. How these advances have led to improved management targets is also emphasised. This book brings together the clinical and scientific expertise of those from around the world who are collaborating to solve the problem of severe asthma.