Login to myESAIC Membership
Back

About

The ESAIC is dedicated to supporting professionals in anaesthesiology and intensive care by serving as the hub for development and dissemination of valuable educational, scientific, research, and networking resources.


Back

Congresses

The ESAIC hosts the Euroanaesthesia and Focus Meeting congresses that serve as platforms for cutting-edge science and innovation in the field. These events bring together experts, foster networking, and facilitate knowledge exchange in anaesthesiology, intensive care, pain management, and perioperative medicine. Euroanaesthesia is one of the world’s largest and most influential scientific congresses for anaesthesia professionals. Held annually throughout Europe, our congress is a contemporary event geared towards education, knowledge exchange and innovation in anaesthesia, intensive care, pain and perioperative medicine, as well as a platform for immense international visibility for scientific research.


Back

Professional Growth

The ESAIC's mission is to foster and provide exceptional training and educational opportunities. The ESAIC ensures the provision of robust and standardised examination and certification systems to support the professional development of anaesthesiologists and to ensure outstanding future doctors in the field of anaesthesiology and intensive care.


Back

Research

The ESAIC aims to advance patient outcomes and contribute to the progress of anaesthesiology and intensive care evidence-based practice through research. The ESAIC Clinical Trial Network (CTN), the Academic Contract Research Organisation (A-CRO), the Research Groups and Grants all contribute to the knowledge and clinical advances in the peri-operative setting.


Learn more about the ESAIC Clinical Trial Network (CTN) and the associated studies.

pink fluid being poured into many test tubes
Back

EU Projects

The ESAIC is actively involved as a consortium member in numerous EU funded projects. Together with healthcare leaders and practitioners, the ESAIC's involvement as an EU project partner is another way that it is improving patient outcomes and ensuring the best care for every patient.


image of a stethoscope laying on the european flag
Back

Sustainability

To ESAIC is committed to implementing the Glasgow Declaration and drive initiatives towards greater environmental sustainability across anaesthesiology and intensive care in Europe.


Back

Partnerships

The ESAIC works in collaboration with industry, national societies, and specialist societies to promote advancements in anaesthesia and intensive care. The Industry Partnership offers visibility and engagement opportunities for industry participants with ESAIC members, facilitating understanding of specific needs in anaesthesiology and in intensive care. This partnership provides resources for education and avenues for collaborative projects enhancing science, education, and patient safety. The Specialist Societies contribute to high-quality educational opportunities for European anaesthesiologists and intensivists, fostering discussion and sharing, while the National Societies, through NASC, maintain standards, promote events and courses, and facilitate connections. All partnerships collectively drive dialogue, learning, and growth in the anaesthesiology and intensive care sector.


Back

Guidelines

Guidelines play a crucial role in delivering evidence-based recommendations to healthcare professionals. Within the fields of anaesthesia and intensive care, guidelines are instrumental in standardizing clinical practices and enhancing patient outcomes. For many years, the ESAIC has served as a pivotal platform for facilitating continuous advancements, improving care standards and harmonising clinical management practices across Europe.


Back

Publications

With over 40 years of publication history, the EJA (European Journal of Anaesthesiology) has established itself as a highly respected and influential journal in its field. It covers a wide range of topics related to anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, including perioperative medicine, pain management, critical care, resuscitation, and patient safety.


Back

Membership

Becoming a member of ESAIC implies becoming a part of a vibrant community of nearly 8,000 professionals who exchange best practices and stay updated on the latest developments in anaesthesiology, intensive care and perioperative medicine. ESAIC membership equips you with the tools and resources necessary to enhance your daily professional routine, nurture your career growth, and play an active role in advancing anaesthesiology, intensive care and perioperative medicine.


Membership opportunities
at the ESAIC

woman showing another woman something on her computer in a hospital

Congress Newsletter 2024

Neuromonitoring reduces mortality caused by head injuries    

Head injuries represent a serious public health problem with devastating consequences, including death, disability, and long-term health issues that may affect every aspect of a person’s life. Understanding the monitoring and treatment principles of head trauma are essential to reducing mortality and disability resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI).  

During a panel discussion at Euroanaesthesia 2024, Özlem Korkmaz Dilmen, MD, Professor of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation at Istanbul University, in Istanbul, Turkey, will guide colleagues through the latest guidelines addressing the management of TBI. “The main goal in the treatment of TBI is to prevent secondary brain injury by reducing intracranial pressure (ICP) and optimising cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), as well as oxygen delivery,” Dilmen said in a pre-conference interview. “That is why neuromonitoring is essential.”  

neuro

ICP and CPP monitoring have been shown to reduce in-hospital and 2-week post-injury mortality in patients with severe TBI, Dilmen noted. ICP can be monitored with the use of different types of catheters. Intraventricular catheters provide information about global ICP, whereas intra-parenchymal placement helps to gauge regional ICP levels. “In general, intraventricular catheters (IVCs) are the gold standard because they can provide cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage, [thereby reducing] ICP,” Dilmen explained. “IVCs do not give just a numeric value, they also give information regarding intracranial compliance, that is why the shape of the ICP curve is very important.”  

Therapeutic strategies that are tailored to individual patients’ needs have the best odds of improving neurologic outcomes and rehabilitation. However, the management of intracranial hypertension after TBI should follow a staircase approach in all cases. First-tier recommendations include general prophylactic measures such as adequate analgesia and sedation depth, maintaining CPP around 60-70 mmHg, mannitol bolus administration, and maintaining the arterial carbon dioxide pressure at the low end of normal. CSF drainage can be considered as an initial treatment for decreasing ICP. The management algorithm for severe TBI proposed by the Seattle International Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Consensus Conference1 also encourages intensive care doctors to consider electroencephalographic monitoring and anti-seizure prophylaxis for one week.  

“Following the first-tier treatment, if ICP is still high, re-examine the patient and consider repeat computed tomography (CT) to re-evaluate intracranial pathology,” Dilmen said. “The [clinical team should] reconsider surgical options for potentially surgical lesions.” Second-tier recommendations include mild hypocapnia, neuromuscular paralysis in adequately sedated patients, and the assessment of cerebral autoregulation, which plays an essential role in determining the next steps. “Raise CPP with fluid boluses, vasopressors, and/or inotropes to lower ICP when autoregulation is intact,” the speaker said. “An increased CPP can lower ICP if autoregulation is intact. This is due to vasoconstriction reducing cerebral blood volume. If autoregulation is disrupted, an increased CPP may worsen ICP by increasing cerebral blood volume.”  

Third-tier measures include the use of phenobarbital coma, secondary decompressive craniectomy, or mild hypothermia (35-36°C), which are recommended to control elevated ICP that is refractory to maximised standard treatment. Advanced interventions should be determined on a case-by case basis and tailored to address evolving challenges in the intensive care unit.  

Those who will attend the panel discussion on Sunday may also learn more about novel approaches used to prevent cerebral hypoxia, which can occur after head trauma even in the context of normal ICP. “Monitoring brain tissue oxygen partial pressure (PbtO2) has been performed in recent years to take a closer look at the penumbra area of salvageable cells in TBI patients,” Dilmen added. “Ideally, the catheter should be inserted into non-traumatised tissue as assessed on CT scans. The normal value of PbtO2 is more than 15–20 mmHg, with sustained PbtO2 under 15 mmHg associated with cerebral ischemia and poor neurological outcomes.” The ongoing BOOST-3 trial2 may provide more answers about the effects of PbtO2-targeted treatments on neurologic outcomes.  

Other sessions featured at Euroanaesthesia 2024 will explore personalised approaches to rehabilitation following TBI and the management of TBI in children.  

References: 

  1. Chesnut R, Aguilera S, Buki A, et al. A management algorithm for adult patients with both brain oxygen and intracranial pressure monitoring: the Seattle International Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Consensus Conference (SIBICC). Intensive Care Med 2020;46(5):919-929. 
  2. Bernard F, Barsan W, Diaz-Arrastia R, et al. Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (BOOST-3): a multicentre, randomised, blinded-endpoint, comparative effectiveness study of brain tissue oxygen and intracranial pressure monitoring versus intracranial pressure alone. BMJ Open 2022;12(3):e060188.  

Related news

See all news