ICU Management & Practice, ICU Volume 6 - Issue 1 - Spring 2006
Author
Jennifer M Hunter, MB ChB PhD FRCA
Chairman Elect Scientific Programme Committee,
ESA University Department of Anaesthesia University
Clinical Departments Liverpool
Acknowledgement
We thank Dr Gordon Drummond, who completes his term of office as Chairman of the Scientific Programme Committee in March 2006, for his flair, energy and commitment to the ESA and its annual scientific meetings.
The European Society of Anaesthesiology, amalgamated since 2005 with the European Academy of Anaesthesiology (EAA), and the Confederation of European National Societies of Anaesthesiologists, holds the largest scientific anaesthetic meeting in Europe, Euroanaesthesia. Jennifer Hunter, Chairman Elect of the Scientific Programme Committee, previews this year's meeting to be held in Madrid.
From June 3-6 2006, the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) will hold its annual meeting in Madrid, the beautiful capital of Spain. Our venue is the purpose-built Juan Carlos Exhibition Centre in the North Convention Centre Building, conveniently accessible from the airport and city centre by public transport. A local organizing committee led by Professor Hector Litvan has contributed significantly to the preparation of this meeting on behalf of the Spanish Society of Anaesthesia, Reanimation and Pain Therapy.
The ESA Scientific Programme Committee (SPC) led by Dr Gordon B Drummond (Edinburgh, UK) has put together an exciting four day scientific programme, covering many aspects of intensive caremedicine. Its 17 subcommittees have planned the programme with such diverse topics as Monitoring, Patient Safety, Local and Regional Anaesthesia, the Neurosciences, Respiration, and Clinical and Experimental Circulation. Each subcommittee of seven members from throughout Europe has a Chairman, nominated to the SPC chair by the subcommittee members, and approved for the appointment through the Nominations Committee by the ESA Board. Each subcommittee recommends to the SPC (16 months in advance of each scientific meeting) two Refresher Courses, each given by recognised experts as didactic lectures; two or three 90 minute symposia consisting of three 30 minute lectures, including discussion; and two 45 minute practical workshops.
The Chairman of the SPC subcommittee on Intensive Care Medicine, Professor Gernot Marx (Jena) has been aided by intensivists from throughout Europe to put this part of the ESA programme together. Didactic Refresher Courses will cover the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis (F Stüber, Bonn), nutritional support in the critically ill (RJ Beale, London), and global and regional oxygen transport in the critically ill (S Jakob, Bern). Symposia will cover blood transfusion and IV fluids in the critical care environment, antibiotic therapy, metabolism and acid-base, and an update on mechanical ventilation, and weaning from it. Management of critically ill children will be discussed, including the use of high frequency ventilation in this population. This symposium will be chaired by W Habre (Geneva) and includes HFO in the child with ARDS, HFO in the neonate, and HFJV for laser airway surgery in children. A workshop on paediatric airway management will be led by Isabelle Murat (Paris), ably supported by D Patel (Manchester) and MWeiss (Zurich).
Perhaps the most interesting lecture for all delegates will be the one opening the meeting on Saturday June 3rd at 13.00 hr: Juan Navia Roque of Madrid will discuss the management of the casualties from the Madrid bombings in “Mass Casualties: The Madrid Experience”. Emergency medicine in Europe will be discussed in a symposium chaired by J Andres (Cracow) and CD Deakin (Southampton), and German and Norwegian views will be given in a workshop asking “Do we need doctors to go out in Emergencies?”
A symposium on Incident Reporting will specifically discuss this approach in intensive therapy, and workshops managing a range of critical incidents will recruit audience participation. A workshop on the influence of human factors, such as stress and fatigue, on patient safety will be of value to all practising clinicians. Other workshops include two onTEE, where the theory, anatomy and pathology as well as the applied physiology will be discussed. Tips on how to pass the ECHO examination will be given Italian style by Fabio Guarracino (Pisa), and assessment of mitral valve function using transoesphageal echocardiography (TOE) will be formally discussed by the international expert Jan Poelaert (Gent). Monitoring of organ and cell function including for the liver and gut, will be addressed in a symposium organised by Andreas Hoeft.
There is much for intensivists to enjoy at the ESA meeting in June 2006. The increasing number of delegates – 5033 in Vienna in June 2005 – must indicate that the programme for these events continues to be relevant and stimulating. Supported so ably by the Secretariat, and especially by Raf Kinnaer as the Programme Administrator, the ESA is fully committed to the continued enhancement of this, the largest scientific anaesthetic meeting in Europe. The fusion of the EAA, CENSA and the “old” ESA at the beginning of 2005 represented the beginning of a truly united approach to the continued development of anaesthesiology, critical care and pain relief on this continent. Join us, as we move forward in our continued attempts to understand the scientific basis of our ever-widening clinical practice, and at the same time enjoy the delights of Madrid and its environs.
