ITS Annual Scientific Meeting 2026
Paediatric Forum agenda
Friday 20 November 2026 · 09:30 – 17:45 · Belling Suite, Killashee Hotel, Naas
Chair: Professor Des Cox, Children's Health Ireland
09:30 – 10:00
Event check-in · Rathaskar Reception
10:00 – 11:00
Allied Health Professional Talks
“Chest drain management in paediatric empyema”
Fionnuala Gardiner, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Cardiothoracics, CHI Crumlin
“Starting up a sleep psychology service”
Dr Jordan Kelly, Senior Clinical Psychologist, CHI
11:00 – 11:15
Refreshment break · Belling Suite
11:15 – 12:15
Clinical Updates
“Congenital thoracic malformations – an updated guideline”
Dr Sheila Javadpour, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, CHI
“New insights into PCD”
Dr Ruth O’Reilly, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, CHI
12:15 – 13:15
Guest Speaker: Dr Zoe Saynor
Associate Professor in Clinical Exercise Physiology, School of Health Sciences, Southampton General Hospital, UK
“Beyond the Sidelines: Putting Exercise at the Heart of Paediatric Respiratory Care”
Dr Zoe Saynor
13:15 – 14:15
Lunch
14:15 – 15:15
Poster and Oral Presentations
Provisional list
Poster presentations
“Clesrovimab safety and RSV-associated disease incidence rates among infants at increased risk for severe RSV disease by subgroup: results from the Phase 3 SMART trial”
Dr Ciara Mulhern, Merck Sharp & Dohme
“From Packs to Pixels: transforming the Children’s Asthma Pack to a family-friendly asthma information webpage”
Ms Catherine Carrig, CHI Tallaght
“Readmissions with pre-school wheeze or asthma to the paediatric inpatient ward”
Dr Sarah Donoghue, Cork University Hospital
“Evaluating the impact of a regional guideline on the management of paediatric parapneumonic effusions and empyema”
Dr Shana Irvine, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
“A NICE update: a quality improvement project optimising antibiotic prescribing for paediatric community acquired pneumonia”
Ms Donna Hamilton, Ulster University
Oral presentations
“Evaluation of asthma education resources: parental understanding after acute admission”
Dr Laura Bruen, Cork University Hospital
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalisations for viral LRTI and wheeze in children under three years old: a Northern Ireland-wide population-based study”
Dr Charlene Redmond, Queen’s University Belfast
“Type 1–Type 2 cytokine balance in nasal swabs during acute preschool wheeze presentations”
Dr Hannah Norman-Bruce, Queen’s University Belfast
“Homeward Bound: a survey of home oxygen management in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia in Ireland”
Dr Jawahir Al Amri, CHI
“Sport and smoking in adolescents in Ireland”
Professor Luke Clancy, TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland
15:15 – 16:00
Guest Speaker: Dr David Brinkman
Consultant Paediatric ENT Surgeon, CHI
“A diagnostic sleep endoscopy service for children”
Dr David Brinkman
16:00 – 16:45
Case Presentations
“From tension to tumour: an unusual cause of pneumothorax”
Dr Shana Irvine, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
“RPGR-associated primary ciliary dyskinesia: longitudinal diagnostic evolution”
Dr Brianna Reilly, CHI Tallaght
16:45 – 17:30
Pro-con Debate
“Preschool wheeze: steroids only when it matters”
Pro: Dr Sarah Murphy, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Limerick
Con: Dr Dara O’Donoghue, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
17:30 – 17:45
Closing remarks and announcement of prize winners
Professor Des Cox, CHI
Join us on Friday 20 November
Questions? info@irishthoracicsociety.com · +353 (0)1 567 7201