Dr Aurora Attends CF EXCEED

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) in London is a globally renowned children’s hospital, treating the rarest and most complex conditions, including cystic fibrosis lung disease. Dr Paul Aurora, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine and Lung Transplantation at GOSH attended CF EXCEED, a conference discussing cystic fibrosis, which was held in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

At the CF EXCEED conference, Dr Aurora presented on the early detection of cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive inherited condition, which affects the production and function of a protein that sits on the surface of all cells. This protein regulates salt moving in and out of the cell. As a result, children born with cystic fibrosis can have problems in many different parts of their body. Usually, they have problems in digestion, weight gain and recurrent chest infections that eventually lead to permanent lung damage. Although treatment options for cystic fibrosis are steadily improving and the outlook for children with cystic fibrosis has become much more positive than it was 20 or 30 years ago, it is still necessary for children to be looked after by a specialist team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and dieticians.

Cystic fibrosis affects approximately one in 2,000 children. Although the incidence of cystic fibrosis in the Middle East is slightly lower, Dr Aurora explains that its prevalence is higher than expected. In the Gulf countries, cystic fibrosis care is still developing and there has been an active attempt to set up specialist centres. Along with other paediatric respiratory medicine specialists from across the world, Dr Aurora attended the conference saying: “I am happy to provide teaching assistance to this event, but I am hoping also to meet with local colleagues and improve informal links.”

During his time at CF EXCEED conference, Dr Aurora highlighted  three services offered by GOSH to support Paediatric Respiratory Medicine consultants in Abu Dhabi and from around the world. 

These services include:

• Providing advice on complex cases, via email, phone or telemedicine.
• The International Observership programme, which offers a chance for clinicians to experience the specialised work at GOSH for one to two months.
• The International Fellowship Programme for doctors who are just beginning to specialise in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine.

At GOSH, our consultants serve as advocates for high quality specialist paediatric care everywhere in the world. Our consultants are delighted to attend conferences such as CF EXCEED to work with their international colleagues in developing and supporting healthcare overseas.