The Second International Congress on Neurocritical Care (CONINI), held between May 9 and 12, 2018, was marked by presentations of high-level scientific studies and great engagement of a young audience of physicians and other health related professionals. The event featured seven pre-congress courses, two simultaneous lecture halls and a total of 400 attendees, who were able to learn and share their experiences with neurocritical patients.
The occasion also marked the II Neurocritical Care Society Regional Meeting. One of the event organizers, doctor Pedro Kurtz, a specialist in the field, former president of the Brazilian Neurocritical Care Association and South American delegate at the Neurocritical Care Society Board, celebrated the successful initiative: “I believe we have achieved the goal of promoting an international event, jointly organized between two dynamic entities, with engaged members. A total of 37 international speakers were among the 70 professionals who lectured in the event”.
According to the Director of the University of Vermont (USA) Health Network Stroke Program and Division Chief for Stroke and Neurocritical Care, Guillermo Linares, “CONINI was a great meeting. I am very pleased to be here sharing my knowledge and learning with the main purpose of improving the treatment offered to stroke patients. Different insights and approaches have been discussed for the management of stroke and this is great. Many Brazilian studies are really innovative and, of course, we are going to incorporate their outcomes into our medical practice in the United States”.
Neurologist Daniel Paes Santos, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology, stated it was “very significant to be able to gather so many professionals who dedicate themselves to the field of neurocritical care in their daily practices”. The physician, in his talk, spoke about the updates to the Ischemic Stroke guidelines.
Neurocritical Care Society vice-president, Jose Suarez, who is also a professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Maryland, USA, spoke on the HIMALAIA study, which aimed to investigate the effects of induced hypertension on outcomes of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage who have developed delayed cerebral ischemia. The neurocritical care practitioner took the opportunity to speak about the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS): “We are a multidisciplinary entity, open to all health professionals interested in the field. Memberships are open to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, regardless of the language they speak or country they practice in. It is very important to work within a multidisciplinary network and bridge the gaps to improve treatment outcomes for patients with life-threatening neurological diseases”.
Intensive care physician Fábio Guimarães de Miranda, coordinator of the Intensive Care Center at Hospital Copa Star, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and member of the event’s organizing committee, highly praised congress as well. Miranda mediated a debate on advanced management of neurocritical patients. “I found the level of the lectures extremely high and attendees raised many important questions on the treatment of neurocritical patients. It was a pleasure to me to be part of the discussions”.
The head of the Neurology Division of Inpatient Care at Spectrum Health, in Michigan (USA), Tamer Abdelhak, said it was encouraging to realize there are so many young professionals interested in the field of neurocritical care in Brazil. He assured that the event was a great learning opportunity. He also highlighted the organization of the event and the welcoming character of the Brazilian public.
Neurocritical care specialist Walter Videtta, who practices at Hospital Posada, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ranked the level of the event as “excellent” and said it was an important opportunity to understand the advances in the field and also to share knowledge with colleagues. At the end of the meeting, the physician invited all the participants to the III Neurocritical Care Society Regional Meeting, to be held in Buenos Aires, in November 2019.
