Preface
Peter M.A. Calverley
In 1802, William Wordsworth, who lived not far from where I am
writing this Preface, published a poem called “My Heart Leaps
Up”. This well-loved and oft-quoted poem contains the line “The
Child is the Father of the Man” whose self-evident truth we can all
acknowledge, especially if you work in the field of adult
obstructive lung disease.
The need to care for the well-being of children had been recognised
some 60 years before the poem was written, by a retired sea
captain, Thomas Coram, who opened the Foundling Hospital not
far from the current Institute of Child Health at University College
London (London, UK). Its aim was to care for the increasing
number of abandoned children in a rapidly industrialising city. The
diseases they tried to treat at the hospital – measles, smallpox and
tuberculosis – were similarly prevalent in adults, and it was not
until the mid-19th century that separate children’s hospitals were
established across Europe and North America. By the middle of the
20th century, it was clear that paediatrics was an important
discipline, separate from adult medicine, with a particular expertise
that prolonged life and lessened suffering.
Ironically, the substantial gains in quality and duration of life seen
in paediatric asthma, cystic fibrosis and neuromuscular disease have
made it essential to reopen the dialogue between paediatricians and
adult physicians and ensure that patients can move from one system
of care in which they have grown up, to another one where they
will be managed in future. The fact that this occurs during
adolescence only increases the need to do this in a sensitive and
appropriate way.
The last 25 years have seen significant advances across a number of
disciplines that help the younger respiratory patient navigate this
journey. However, this information is not usually available to be
consulted in one place. One of the joys of editing the ERS
Monograph is when enthusiastic guest editors make a proposal for
an important topic that we are well placed to address. That is what
happened when Alexandra M. Nanzer, Brian D. Kent and
Copyright ©ERS 2024. Print ISBN: 978-1-84984-178-8. Online ISBN: 978-1-84984-179-5. Print ISSN: 2312-508X. Online
ISSN: 2312-5098.
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10009124 v
Peter M.A. Calverley
In 1802, William Wordsworth, who lived not far from where I am
writing this Preface, published a poem called “My Heart Leaps
Up”. This well-loved and oft-quoted poem contains the line “The
Child is the Father of the Man” whose self-evident truth we can all
acknowledge, especially if you work in the field of adult
obstructive lung disease.
The need to care for the well-being of children had been recognised
some 60 years before the poem was written, by a retired sea
captain, Thomas Coram, who opened the Foundling Hospital not
far from the current Institute of Child Health at University College
London (London, UK). Its aim was to care for the increasing
number of abandoned children in a rapidly industrialising city. The
diseases they tried to treat at the hospital – measles, smallpox and
tuberculosis – were similarly prevalent in adults, and it was not
until the mid-19th century that separate children’s hospitals were
established across Europe and North America. By the middle of the
20th century, it was clear that paediatrics was an important
discipline, separate from adult medicine, with a particular expertise
that prolonged life and lessened suffering.
Ironically, the substantial gains in quality and duration of life seen
in paediatric asthma, cystic fibrosis and neuromuscular disease have
made it essential to reopen the dialogue between paediatricians and
adult physicians and ensure that patients can move from one system
of care in which they have grown up, to another one where they
will be managed in future. The fact that this occurs during
adolescence only increases the need to do this in a sensitive and
appropriate way.
The last 25 years have seen significant advances across a number of
disciplines that help the younger respiratory patient navigate this
journey. However, this information is not usually available to be
consulted in one place. One of the joys of editing the ERS
Monograph is when enthusiastic guest editors make a proposal for
an important topic that we are well placed to address. That is what
happened when Alexandra M. Nanzer, Brian D. Kent and
Copyright ©ERS 2024. Print ISBN: 978-1-84984-178-8. Online ISBN: 978-1-84984-179-5. Print ISSN: 2312-508X. Online
ISSN: 2312-5098.
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10009124 v