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Professor David Hui graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1985. He then undertook postgraduate training in Respiratory Medicine and Sleep Medicine at the Prince of Wales and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital respectively in Sydney, Australia. He was practising as a Staff Specialist in Respiratory Medicine at St George Hospital in Sydney before joining the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in early 1998 as an Assistant Professor and Head of Division of Respiratory Medicine. He was promoted to Professor 1 in 2007, and has taken up important roles as the Director of the Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Associate Director (Clinical Liaison) of the School of Public Health and Primary Care since 2009.

 

Following the major outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, Professor Hui has developed research interests in the clinical management of emerging respiratory infections and the safety of respiratory therapy in the post-SARS era. He was involved as a World Health Organization (WHO) advisor to review the clinical management of human H5N1 influenza during the early human outbreak in Vietnam in February 2004 and was an advisor to the WHO and Thailand on clinical management of pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 in August 2009. He was involved as a WHO Writing Committee Member and has contributed to the WHO documents on the clinical management of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in 2007 and clinical management of human infection with pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009. He is currently working with the WHO Writing Committee in drafting the clinical treatment guideline for severe influenza. His other research interests include sleep disordered breathing and common airway diseases. He has published over 190 peer-reviewed journal articles and 21 book chapters since joining the CUHK in 1998.

Respiratory failure is a syndrome in which the respiratory system fails in one or both of its gas exchange functions: oxygenation and carbon dioxide elimination. Respiratory failure is a major complication of emerging respiratory infections such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), avian influenza H5N1, and pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 infection. Rapid and effective oxygen delivery is an essential component in the clinical management of critically ill patients with respiratory failure. While mechanical ventilation via non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or tracheal intubation is required in the more severe cases, oxygen therapy is often applied during the early stage of treatment. These procedures however may generate respiratory droplets and become a potential source of infectious pathogens.

 

During the major outbreak of SARS, endotracheal intubation, oxygen therapy and NIV were independent risk factors for major nosocomial outbreaks affecting many healthcare workers. In this inaugural lecture, Professor David Hui will present his research work examining the exhaled air dispersion during coughing, manual ventilation, and application of various types of common respiratory therapy in the isolation room setting. His research work has provided useful information to international health organizations and professional societies  in their pandemic influenza preparedness in the clinical management of severe respiratory failure.