The 2026 annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) is quickly approaching. From September 5 through September 9, in Barcelona, Spain, the 2026 ERS Congress brings the world’s respiratory experts together to showcase the latest in respiratory science and medicine. Discounted registration rates are available leading up to the conference, with additional discounted rates for ERS members, patients, and others. 

Today, we’re taking a look at some of the sessions on respiratory critical care topics that attendees can look forward to during the 2026 ERS Congress. There are reduced session options on September 5 and September 9. Some descriptions have been edited for clarity and brevity. For the complete schedule, visit the event’s program on the official website.

Respiratory Critical Care Sessions at the 2026 ERS Congress

Saturday, September 5

  • Mastering Non-Invasive Ventilation: Acute and Long-Term Management
    • 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
    • Description: This session will feature discussions and Q&A sessions on strategies for successful non-invasive ventilation in the acute setting, non-invasive ventilation across the continuum of care, monitoring and optimization of long-term non-invasive ventilation, and more.
  • Pulmonary Aspergillosis
    • 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
    • Description: Attendees will learn how to identify key clinical phenotypes of pulmonary aspergillosis, how to select and interpret appropriate diagnostic modalities, how to initiate and monitor antifungal therapy, how to identify antifungal resistance and adapt treatment, and how to apply clinical decision pathways in complex scenarios.

Sunday, September 6

  • Host-Environment Interactions in Lung Disease
    • 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
    • Description: This session features posters including: Integrating long non-coding RNAs and clinical data to predict long-term pulmonary recovery in ventilated critically ill patients; Integrated multi-omics profiling of airway responses in pediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia with co-infection; and more.
  • Advances in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Acute Lung Injury
    • 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
    • Description: Some of the oral presentations currently scheduled during this session include: Comparison of thoracic and abdominal sarcopenia in patients with severe respiratory failure requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Longitudinal ventilatory ratio subphenotyping and treatment heterogeneity in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome; and more.
  • Neutrophils as Regulators of Lung Injury and Infection
    • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
    • Description: This session features posters including: Chlamydia pneumoniae lung infection induces sustained neutrophil priming and altered responsiveness; Intrapleural enzyme therapy improves fibrinolysis by targeting neutrophilic responses in pleural infection; and more.
  • Respiratory Critical Care
    • 1:45 PM – 3:15 PM
    • Description: This session will define the evolving role of respiratory high-dependency unit (HDUs) and mobile respiratory teams in modern respiratory care, compare international models of staffing, organisation and resource allocation, highlighting how different systems meet patient needs, and more.
  • Lungs on Fire: Respiratory Critical Care/Sleep and Breathing Disorders
    • 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
    • Description: This session will present real-life clinical cases as part of an interactive session. Cases vary in difficulty and may require differential diagnosis.

Monday, September 7

  • Insights into Paediatric Respiratory Physiology and Diagnostic Testing
    • 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
    • Description: This session features topics like expert consensus on point-of-care lung ultrasound in pediatric respiratory diseases, food Aspiration–Induced Negative Pressure Pulmonary Edema with Alveolar Hemorrhage in an adolescent, and more.
  • Pro-Con Debate: Awake Respiratory Support in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
    • 8:30 AM – 9:15 AM
    • Description: This session will explain the balance between patient self-inflicted lung injury (p-SILI) and ventilator-induced lung injury when choosing ventilatory support in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), discuss the potential of extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to offer protective lung ventilation or even to furlough invasive ventilation during ARDS, while highlighting the fact that this is uncharted territory, and more.
  • Respiratory Infections
    • 1:45 PM – 3:15 PM
    • Description: Attendees will receive a comprehensive and practical update on the management of community-acquired pneumonia based on the 2025 ATS guidelines and more.

Tuesday, September 8

  • Clinical and Translational Insights in Pleural and Interstitial Lung Diseases
    • 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
    • Description: This session features topics including challenges and variation in the management of adult pleural infection across district general hospitals in the Thames Valley region of the United Kingdom, factors associated with delayed lung re-expansion after drainage of spontaneous pneumothorax, and more.
  • Non-Invasive Respiratory Support in Acute Respiratory Failure, Post-Intensive-Care Syndrome and Rehabilitation in Critical Care
    • 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
    • Description: During this session, attendees will learn about topics including invasive mechanical ventilation for acute exacerbations of COPD, lung function change after salbutamol administration through mesh versus jet nebuliser in severe COPD exacerbation, and others.
  • Fungal and Opportunistic Pulmonary Infections II: Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Services
    • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
    • Description: This session features topics including clinical analysis of Aspergillus-specific IgG antibody in the diagnosis of suspected non-neutropenic invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, development and validation of the FUNGAL-P score for early identification of fungal pneumonia, and more.

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