ISIM-News Archive
ISIM-News Archive
The annual two-day program of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine was extremely well arranged in the beautiful Winter Garden at the Sheraton hotel, Dhaka with over 400 registered participants. The program covered the panorama of internal medicine and infectious diseases with lectures on hypertension, diabetes, HIV/Aids, malaria, disturbances in electrolytes and acid balance, quality control, poisoning as well as other subjects. The lecturers from abroad represented well-known research as well as clinical units form several countries and organizations, including American College of Physicians (Donna Sweet), and the International Society of Internal Medicine (Thomas Kjellström, President).
An interesting subject of the congress was the clinical cases, presented to a 7-membered board trying to be helpful in the clinical diagnostic and treatment strategies. The clinical cases were extremely well gone through and illustrated a very high level of knowledge in the presentations.
A number of other presentations of high quality made the program interesting and successfully brought together and well worth the time spent for each delegate. The organizers, and particularly prof. F.M. Siddiqui, are to be congratulated for this event, including a high-class social program. The next annual meeting is to be recommended also for delegates from abroad.
Thomas Kjellström
President International Society of Internal Medicine
Quality control is an essential part of health care. The concept of total quality management should be brought into every department of medicine. It is not only the clinical results in terms of effects of medical treatments but also the results of services that accounts. How satisfied is the customer/patient?
Quality control is also focused on the handling of risks and trying to stop bad things from happening. A system for risk management including the identification of risks, risk assessment, taking actions to manage risks, and evaluation of risk management activities is essential in complex organizations like departments of internal medicine.
An example of quality system that could be used is the Swedish Institute for Quality focusing on some core values for health care. In the medical process the evidence-based medicine has come to play a central role and how to evaluate literature as well as quality of education will be discussed.
The experiences from a yearly follow-up of Swedish clinics (going on for more than ten years) for internal medicine ("verksamhetsuppföljning"), and the national registers will be discussed, and examples given that could be valid for every single department (www.sim.nu/mambo, only in Swedish !) The process of benchmarking is an essential part of learning from each other and also to change the paradigm in internal medicine into "a learning from others by questioning". A model for benchmarking will be discussed as well.
Co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe
BACKGROUND.
A Pan-European meeting took place in Helsingborg, Sweden, 8-10 November, 1995 to improve stroke management in Europe. The meeting was arranged by the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe and the European Stroke Council, in collaboration with the European Federation of Neurological Societies, the International Stroke Society, the World Confederation of Physical Therapy-Europe and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. The meeting adopted the Helsingborg Declaration on Stroke Management which defined clear to be reached in stroke care by 2005.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE.
The aims of the Conference will be:
DOMAINS
PARTICIPANTS.
Health policy makers and stroke experts will attend the conference, together with stroke team professionals.
THE CONFERENCE SITE.
The Conference will be held in the Concert Hall (Konserthuset) in downtown Helsingborg, Sweden. For more information please see the conference website: www.umea-congress.se
CONFERENCE PROGRAM.
Five stroke management domains will be covered and a new consensus statement will be discussed. There will be an introductory lecture for each domain, followed by a plenary discussion with invited speakers with the opportunity for participants to interact. The global burden of stroke and trends, as well as the WHO international stroke surveillance system will be discussed. A poster session is also scheduled. The final program for the Conference will be available on 1 October 2005.
The Conference is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe and arranged by the International Society of Internal Medicine, endorsed by the European Stroke Council and the International Stroke Society.
During the 27th World Congress of Internal Medicine in Granada, September 2004, the Bangladesh Society of Medicine (Prof. F.M. Siddiqui) approached the Executive Committee of ISIM to have ISIM participating in the Annual Meeting in Dhaka. Last year Prof. Charles Hind represented ISIM also at their annual meeting and gave a lecture on pulmonary medicine. Now, it was decided that Prof. Bart Keymeulen and the President of ISIM, Prof. Thomas Kjellström should represent ISIM in Dhaka.
The 5th National Congress and Scientific Seminar of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine was arranged in the fashionable Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, 5-6 December 2004, in central Dhaka, a city of about 13 million inhabitants (10% of the Bangladesh population).
The two-day program covered a broad range of topics such as community-acquired pneumonias, geriatric medicine, hypertension and diuretics, immune mediated inflammatory rheumatic diseases (including a "gazing in the crystal ball" by Prof. S.A. Haq) as well as lectures given by the ISIM representatives (abstracts below). A very interesting session with four case reports, prepared by young physicians including the presence of the patients, was particularly to be mentioned because of the very high standards on the work-ups of the cases and the very elucidating discussions that followed. The idea was brought up if ISIM should in the future be able to handle further case-discussions on the web! The meeting was very well arranged and kept together by Prof. Siddiqui. I am sure that the more than 200 colleagues learned a lot by their active participation.
The tour for the ISIM representatives, and representatives of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine, continued to Cox Bazar repeating the lectures for very interested colleagues and then to the Chittagong Medical University. The experience of Bangladesh was an impressing high level of knowledge, and generally deep understanding of the patients medical problems. In Cox Bazar there is a wonderful beach, actually the longest beach in the world (where we had a swim) and the sunset over the ocean attracted hundreds of spectators. In all parts we visited in Bangladesh the colourful rickshaws were a major part of the traffic, which was very crowded but in one way or another managed to run in harmony with all cars and buses. The kitchen and sweetmeats of Bangladesh is worth a visit by itself. Bangladesh is a young and very friendly nation with a huge potential for growth and well worth a visit!
Abstract Lectures in Dhaka, Dec 6 2004.
Stroke management and strategies.
Thomas Kjellström, University of Lund, Helsingborg, Sweden
Stroke is the third commonest cause of death worldwide and also causes 3% of the world's disability. By 2020 stroke mortality will have almost doubled. Therefore, local guidelines and protocols, integrated care pathways, staff training, and quality assurance systems are needed to optimise performance and thus outcomes for patients. New drugs and treatments will also be helpful for the patients.
In the WHO and European Stroke Council (the Helsingborg Declaration) were strategies for stroke management outlined to be met in 2005.
The plan of action includes dissemination of the consensus document and to develop guidelines, working with quality assessment and monitoring of goals. In Sweden, a national registry is well developed and critical data from all hospitals are followed on-line on the web. About 80% of all patients with stroke (25 000/y) in the country are reported to the National Stroke Register. Some results from the register will be discussed as well as examples from the evidence-based national guidelines on priorities in the treatment of stroke. In 2006 there will be an update of the Helsingborg Declaration on Stroke.
Multifactorial Intervention in Diabetes Mellitus.
Bart Keymeulen
Diabetes Research Center, Free University of Brussels (VUB), Belgium
Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Several factors account for the accelerated atherosclerosis present in diabetic patients. These include hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and prothrombotic state. It was recently demonstrated that a multifactorial intervention on these modifiable risk factors in diabetic patients dramatically reduces the incidence of cardiovascular and microvascular events. Numerous trials provided evidence for use of hypoglycaemic agents, statin or fibrates that improve dyslipidaemia, anti-hypertensive agents, aspirin and healthy lifestyle. However, full implementation of a truly multifactorial strategy into routine practice is associated with practical difficulties of sustained patient compliance and costs of drug treatment.
Reported by Thomas Kjellström
President of International Society of Internal medicine
E-post: thomas.kjellstrom@helsingborgslasarett.se
The 27th International Congress of Internal Medicine was an outstanding event! Professor Blas Gil-Extremera, the President of the Organizing Committee, and his numerous collaborators prepared a meeting covering all aspects of modern internal medicine. The congress took place in the International Congress Centre of Granada, which offered all technical facilities to run a successful medical meeting with thousands of participants. The 27th International Congress was visited by almost 4000 physicians from all over the world. The destination was especially attractive for colleagues from Latin America, the delegation from Mexico numbering more than 150! We all were very pleased by the fact that the average age of the participating doctors was remarkably low. In contrast to many international congresses taking place in touristically attractive places, people stayed in the auditoriums from early morning until late in the evening. This speaks for the high quality of the program.
Highlights of the program were the following lectures and seminars:
The social program brought the participants to numerous historical beauties of the historical city of Granada: the Alhambra (a visit by night was a very special treat!), the old city, cathedral, Albaycin etc.
The 27th International Congress in Granada was one of the best organized and most interesting congresses ISIM so far had. With wish to thank Blas Gil-Extremera and his organizing committee again for the excellent job they did.
Rolf A. Streuli
SOCIÉTÉ INTERNATIONALE DE MÉDECINE INTERNE
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
INTERNATIONALE GESELLSCHAFT FÜR INNERE MEDIZIN
of the meeting of the International Committee of ISIM held on September 29, 2004, at 12:15 p.m. at the International Congress Center, Granada, Spain.
President: Dr. Charles R.K. Hind, Liverpool
Present:
At this meeting the following items were approved:
October 4, 2004
Rolf A. Streuli, MD, FACP, FRCP
Secretary General ISIM
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