Welcome to the first edition of European Respiratory and Pulmonary Diseases. This new annual journal aims to provide members of the respiratory community a wide range of high-quality review articles, editorials and case studies written by key opinion leaders from a variety of respiratory disciplines.
This issue begins with an editorial from Almeida discussing new concepts in childhood asthma. Distinguishing wheeze phenotypes in early childhood may predict future asthma burden. Another editorial by Cabral and Almeida discusses the off-label use of drugs for childhood asthma; and a further editorial by Robinson outlines the issues of severe asthma and exacerbations.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively resistant tuberculosis are serious hindrances to the control of tuberculosis worldwide.An article by Zellwegger discusses currently recommended strategies for the control of these serious conditions.
An editorial from Calderon provides an introduction to sublingual allergen immunotherapy, a new therapeutic option for allergic rhinitis that reduces nasal and ocular symptoms scores, reduces the use of relief medication and improves quality of life in both adults and children.
European Respiratory and Pulmonary Diseases would like to hear from any leading authorities who would like to discuss article submissions, and is also interested in industry-sponsored articles that are balanced and relevant. We are particularly interested in concise reviews on new treatments, drugs and technologies, although we also welcome short case series and original research material. Our journal adheres to the publication guidelines recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (www.icmje.org) and the Good Publication Practice guidelines (www.ismpp.org/gpp2). All articles are subjected to a rigorous, double-blind peer review process. The ‘Instructions for Authors’ information is available for download (www.touchRESPIRATORY.com).
European Respiratory and Pulmonary Diseases would like to thank all expert authors who contributed towards this edition. A special thanks goes to our Editorial Board for their support and guidance in this new venture. We hope that you enjoy this journal and find plenty of interest among these timely articles.
