ICU Management & Practice, ICU Volume 5 - Issue 4 - Winter 2005
Authors
Antonio Artigas
Critical Care Centre, Sabadell Hospital University Institute Parc Taulí
Sabadell Spain
Jean Carlet
Intensive Care Department
Hôpital St. Joseph, Paris France
Michael Niederman
Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Winthrop University Hospital
Minneola New York USA
Professor Artigas welcomes you to Seville February 3-4, 2006 for an update from the experts on concepts, technology and advances in infections in the critically ill patient.
The International Symposium on Infections in the Critically Ill Patient was created to review the current concepts, technology and advances in infections in the critically ill patient. Sepsis, Basic Research and Epidemiology, Pulmonary Infections and Prophylaxis, and Treatment of severe infections are the topics of the main sessions presented by international experts, who review and update the new advances on infections in critically ill patients. Each session has an update and year review of the most important scientific contributions to each specific topic. At the end of each session a clinical controversy or other relevant topic is debated.
The target audience of this successful annual Symposium are physicians who care for individuals with severe infections in the ICU, and scientists interested in the basic mechanisms related to host response and infections of severely critically ill patients. This year the Symposium will be in Seville, hosted by José Garnacho.
In recent years, physicians providing care in the intensive care unit have seen rapidly increasing rates of microbial antibiotic resistance. Given a concurrent paucity of new antimicrobial agents, more emphasis needs to be placed on:
• preventing ventilator associated pneumonia
• improving our ability to definitively diagnose ventilator associated pneumonia
• improving our knowledge on the innate lung immunity to respond to severe pulmonary infections, and
• incorporating this information into evidence-based guidelines.
The sessions on pulmonary infections and treatment prophylaxis will introduce participants to the latest developments in these areas.
Sepsis-induced organ dysfunction is a leading cause of death in intensive care units, and tissue hypoxia (shock) is a putative cause. However, new evidence indicates that cytopathic events, including DNA and proteins, undermine cell and organ dysfunction in the context of sepsis. Organ damage, in turn, resonates with the immune and endocrine systems to perpetuate sepsis-induced organ dysfunction. The sepsis session will highlight the latest insights into the mechanisms of sepsis-induced organ dysfunction and will consider the therapeutic implications and the genetic influence on outcome. Optimal fluid and catecolamine therapy and the use of steroids in patients with sepsis will be discussed.
At the conclusion of the symposium, participants will be able to:
• describe historic trends in microbial antibiotic resistance and the attendant implications for patients with ventilator associated pneumonia
• identify novel VAP prophylaxis measures currently being developed
• assess the utility of biomarkers in definitively diagnosing VAP
• improve the treatment and outcome of severe community acquired pneumonia
• assess the usefulness and limitation of haemodynamic and microcirculatory alterations during fluid and vasoactive drugs challenge
• decide which of the available fluids and pharmacologic treatments to use by integrating considerations of scientific rationale, effectiveness, outcome studies and cost.
This year we have developed a variety of pre- Symposium Educational Sessions, workshops, meetings on trials and studies, and a consensus conference with a task force of experts. We recommend that you plan to arrive in Seville on Thursday 2nd February, to attend any of these meetings and maximize your educational experience.
Seville is rich in culture, history and architecture. Come to enjoy the art and antiques, Flamenco dancing, the natural park of Coto de Doñana, and the Guadalquivir river.
