ESA Newsletter online

Thank you from the President and the Chair of the Scientific Committee

This year’s Euroanaesthesia was one of most successful ever, with delegates from 101 countries enjoying one our most fascinating and varied programmes to date.

New for 2017 were the Sim Lab sessions, completely sold out months in advance. In these sessions, small groups of delegates received training using high fidelity manikins, simulating various medical emergencies that the anaesthesiologist can encounter in their daily working lives. The ultrasound workshops were also expanded this year to reflect

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New indications for old molecules

One of the Sunday symposia at this year’s Euroanaesthesia was an intriguing session on new indications for old molecules.

The first talk was on the role of cannabinoids for pain control, given by Caterina Aurilio, Professor in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy.

She said: “Cannabis has been used for millennia to reduce pain and other somatic and psychological symptoms. Cannabinoids today have been studied in depth. They are a group of chemical compounds that activate cannabinoid receptors; they include the phytocannabinoids

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Pro-Con debate: Sedation is routinely used in patients having surgery under regional anaesthesia

One of the popular pro-con debates at this year’s Euroanaesthesia took place during Sunday’s program, with the motion: sedation is routinely used in patients having surgery under regional anaesthesia.

Arguing for the motion was Dr Imad Awad, Staff Anesthesiologist and Assistant Professor, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto Canada.

“Regional anesthesia provides multiple benefits to patients such as superior pain control, faster recovery, opioid sparing and reduction in

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Cardiac arrest on plane journeys: new guidelines proposed

New guidelines to deal with the in-flight emergency of cardiac arrest in a passenger or crew member were proposed at this year’s Euroanaesthesia meeting (abstract 10AP02-4) at this year’s Euroanaesthesia. The task force that has created the guidelines was led by Professor Jochen Hinkelbein, University of Cologne, Germany and President of the German Society for Aerospace Medicine (DGLRM).

Approximately 3 billion people worldwide travelled by commercial air transport in 2016. A calculation based on the number of passengers transported shows that between 1 out of 14,000 to 1 out of 50,000 passengers will

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“I’m an anaesthetist, can I help?” – Providing unexpected care in unusual circumstances

Many anaesthetists — indeed many doctors of any specialty — have found themselves in the position of providing care in unusual circumstances. This can range from helping someone falling in the street to major medical emergencies on commercial aircraft.

The first talk in this three-part session delivered in Monday’s Euroanaesthesia programme was by an expert who can see both the doctor’s side and the legal issues – UK-based Adam Sandell, who works as both a barrister and a general practitioner. He confronted the audience with a theoretical situation they may face on any international flight: you are an Italian

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Ultrasound workshops

Due to huge demand in 2016, the Ultrasound workshops in Euroanaesthesia 2017 were expanded to cover all three days of the congress.

With the advent of ultrasound guidance there is renewed and increasing interest in regional anaesthesia, explained by alleged improved success rates and fewer complications. However, a lot remains to be done in terms of acquisition of a new skill set by both existing specialists and novices in anaesthesia.

One set of Ultrasound Workshops were chaired by Dr Eric Albrecht, Attending

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Interview with Daniela Filipescu

This year, the ESA will honour former President Daniela Filipescu with a prestigious Honorary Membership. Here Daniela reflects on her career and time as President.

Q: What made you want to become an anaesthesiologist, and how difficult was this in Romania at that time?

DF: Before graduating, while preparing my MD license thesis on a malignant haematological disease, all the study patients died. I could not help them at all and that dramatic outcome influenced my decision of choosing a specialty of acute care of patients. I was committed to contribute immediately to the improvement of patient health.

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What the papers say : some press coverage of Euroanaesthesia 2017

This year, the most popular stories in the press were on anaesthesia in space (Monday symposia) and a poster abstract on guidelines for CPR on planes (10AP02-4). Links to some of the coverage (in English) can be found below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40133319

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/06/05/astronauts-should-learn-print-3d-equipment-save-lives/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mars-astronauts-must-prepare-for-non-survivable-illnesses_uk_59352df3e4b02478cb9cf4dc

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Interview with Carmen Gomar

The ESA is delighted to announce the award of an honorary membership to Professor Carmen Gomar (Barcelona, Spain) for her distinguished record in education and training in anaesthesia, both within the ESA and in her home country. Here, Carmen shares her thoughts on her career.

Q: What made you want to become an anaesthesiologist?

CG: During my medical studies I had a professor, Prof Vicente Chuliá, who showed me what is most fascinating in our specialty: that we diagnose, treat and see the results almost at the same time. Immediately observing the results of resuscitation and surgical anesthesia

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Paediatric anaesthesia in Europe: the APRICOT study

One of the sessions on the final day of this year’s Euroanaesthesia meeting was dedicated to another successful study from the ESA’s Clinical Trials Network (CTN) – the APRICOT study.

On 28 March 2017, APRICOT (Anaesthesia PRactice In Children Observational Trial) was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The primary endpoint of this trial was incidence of severe critical events, defined by incidents occurring during and up to 60 minutes after anaesthesia or sedation (laryngospasm, bronchospasm, pulmonary aspiration, drug error, anaphylaxis, cardiovascular instability, neurological damage, cardiac arrest and post-extubation stridor) during and immediately following anaesthesia (PACU).

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Preoperative strategies to minimise blood loss

One of the Sunday’s sessions at this year’s Euroanaesthesia discussed the issues of anaemia and blood loss and the various preoperative strategies available to minimise the problem. The session began with a talk on ‘Preoperative strategies to own red cell mass’ by Dr Jens Meier, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Kepler University Hospital, Linz, Austria.

As Dr Meier pointed out: “Preoperative anaemia is a common problem. Depending on the country and the surgical intervention, 25% of patients are anaemic.” The situation is further complicated by the fact that most of these patients are not even aware that they have a problem since their anaemia is of mild or moderate severity, and may not present

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Where did the delegates come from?

Over 5200 delegates from 107 countries attended Euroanaesthesia 2017 demonstrating once again that the ESA annual congress is recognised worldwide for the quality of the programme. Delegates represented our specialty across the field from trainees to internationally renowned experts. Euroanaesthesia provides the opportunity for all professional involved in anaesthesia, perioperative medicine, intensive care, emergency medicine and pain treatment to share knowledge and new directions in research and best practice.
109 exhibitors from global pharmaceutical and medical technology leaders to new start-ups showcased their latest innovations and achievements.
20 ESA National Societies Members and 7

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