II Kazakhstan Forum “Interstitial Lung Diseases” was held on September 26, 2026. The large-scale scientific and clinical event brought together 20 distinguished speakers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, as well as 92 respiratory medicine specialists from all regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The forum was organized by the Medical Center Hospital of the President’s Affairs Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Medical Center Hospital PAA RK), with the support of Boehringer Ingelheim.
Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) remain one of the most challenging issues in modern pulmonology due to the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties associated with their clinical course, poor prognosis, and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to disease management. Accordingly, particular attention was paid to early diagnosis and the timely detection of progressive pulmonary fibrosis, which can lead to disability and reduced life expectancy. The speakers presented modern approaches to the early initiation of antifibrotic therapy, as well as information on the latest antifibrotic medications awaiting registration in Kazakhstan.
Welcome addresses were delivered by Gulnar Sarsenbayeva, Department Director of Medical Care Provision of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Raushan Karabayeva, Director of the Medical Center Hospital PAA RK; Professor Joanna Chorostowska-Vynimko, President of the European Respiratory Society (ERS); Sergey Avdeev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Chief Pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation; Professor Talantbek Sooronbayev, Chief Pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic; Natalia Latypova, Chief Pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan; and Alexey Pak, Chairman of the National Respiratory Society.
As part of the scientific program, specialists from the Center for Respiratory Medicine of the Medical Center Hospital PAA RK, headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences Roza Bakenova, presented advanced national experience in providing care to patients with ILDs. The Center, which has national-level status and is equipped with state-of-the-art expert-class medical equipment, provides highly specialized care to patients with ILDs from all regions of Kazakhstan. A major achievement of the Center, developed with the support of leading respiratory medicine specialists in Kazakhstan, has been the establishment of the country’s first electronic registry of patients with ILDs and a multidisciplinary expert commission operating on its basis. The commission determines indications for antifibrotic therapy in ILDs and ensures long-term patient referral and follow-up.
Particular attention at the forum was devoted to clinical case discussions involving complex diagnostic cases, international clinical guidelines for the management of patients with progressive fibrosing ILDs, and practical criteria for the use of antifibrotic therapy. Participants discussed cooperation between primary healthcare specialists, regional pulmonologists, and the Medical Center Hospital PAA RK expert center in order to minimize the time from a patient’s initial presentation to diagnosis.
During the sectional sessions, leading international and Kazakhstani experts delivered presentations on the differential diagnosis of rare forms of lung disease, the role of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and modern morphological methods for diagnosing ILDs.
The forum concluded with the adoption of a resolution aimed at further improving the pulmonology service in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The document included proposals to improve access to modern diagnostic methods, standardize treatment protocols based on expert data from the registry, and actively implement educational programs for physicians of related specialties, including internists, radiologists, rheumatologists, and pathologists.
The II Kazakhstan Forum “Interstitial Lung Diseases” reaffirmed the status of the Medical Center Hospital PAA RK as a leading scientific, clinical, and coordinating center in the field of respiratory medicine, particularly in the area of ILDs, contributing to the development of advanced standards of medical care in Kazakhstan.
