EAACI 2009 Pediatric Allergy & Asthma Meeting12-13-14 November 2009, Venice-Italy

The Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Meeting (PAAM) took place in Venice on the 12-14th November 2009. The number of registered delegates was 900, with a final

amount of participants of up to 1000 people. They could attend 3 Plenary Sessions, 11 Main Symposia, 4 Sponsored Symposia, 18 Practical Courses, 2 Workshops and 2 Pro-Con Debates. The delegates contributed 140 communications that were presented in 4 Poster Sessions and 4 Poster Symposia. The program covered a broad spectrum of hot topics in pediatric allergy, specifically on asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, anaphylaxis and immunotherapy. There

were also joint sessions with the ERS Pediatric Assembly (Problematic severe asthma in childhood initiative) and with the ESPGHAN (Gastrointestinal Allergy: New challenges for the 3rd millennium). The whole program may still be available athttp://www.eaacipediatrics-venice2009.org

The venue was located at the Congress Centre of the Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel, located in the small island Giudecca of the extraordinary city of Venice. The organizers welcomed us during the opening ceremony, which was followed by a concert performed by the Cheryl Poter & Luppia Jazz Orchestra. This meeting was organized by the EAACI Pediatric Section. The audience included pediatricians and allergists in training, as well as experienced colleagues from all

over the world. Within three days, participants and faculty members discussed the latest achievements in the field of Pediatric Allergy and Asthma.

Posters were discussed during poster sessions where juniors had a great opportunity to share their own experience and discuss their clinical work with other young colleagues and seniors. The postgraduate and practical courses were exciting scientific events and also had a great success.

Three awards were given for the Poster sessions and three other for the Poster symposia:

The impact on families of children's bronchial asthma. A new questionnaire for assessment. E Tauler, D Forns, R Prat. Spain.

A ”real-life” study of the utility of the EAACI Task Force on Anaphylaxis position paper − identification of symptoms and grading of severity of anaphylaxis

among children reacting to foods. M Wickman, M Gotze, D Helander, E Östblom, T Alvén, C Nilsson, G Hedlin, G Lilja. Sweden.

Evidence for a central role of TH17 cells and IL33 in the cytokine network of chronic rhinosinusitis. T Eiwegger, D Holzmann, TM Basinski, T Akkoc, M Akdis, CA Akdis. Turkey.

Bacterial finding at the first wheezing episode is associated with more severe illness and higher risk for relapses. T Jartti, S Kuneinen, P Lehtinen, T Vuorinen, M Leinonen, O Ruuskanen. Finland.

Genetic polymorphisms and atopy: combining UK cohort studies for greater research efficacy, A Rouechè, S Mukhopadhyay UK.

Longitudinal validity and responsiveness of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire − Parent Form (FAQLQ−PF) in children 0−12 years following positive and negative food challenges. A. Dunn Galvin, B Flokstra de Blok, AEJ Dubois, J O’B Hourihane. The Netherlands. The abstracts of the communications are available on-line in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118512964/home

Apart from the scientific activities the participants had the chance to view and explore the beautiful city of Venice by visiting the historical places and learning about its culture. We thank all of the speakers, participants and faculty for their outstanding support who made this meeting a memorable event.

The Pediatric Section of the EAACI would like to congratulate Dr Antonella Muraro and the rest of the Organizing Committee for a very successful meeting, both in attendance and in the quality of the contributions.

The Pediatric Section looks forward to hosting a further Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Meeting in 2011.

Lilit Hovhannisyan (Junior Member Working Group) Angel Mazon (Pediatrics Section Board) Photographs: Michael Rudenko, Angel Mazon