43rd International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM), Brussels (SQUARE), 19-22 March, 2024
What has become the largest international congress in the field of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine will welcome, for its 43rd edition, nearly 5,000 intensive care and emergency physicians from around the world to Brussels. The ISICEM congress, organized by the Intensive Care Department of Brussels University Hospital (HUB) in collaboration with the Belgian Intensive Care Society (SIZ), is held every year in Brussels and offers the opportunity to discover the latest advances in various fields of these two sister disciplines.
Among the many topics that will be covered, 3 in particular attract attention:
1-The contributions of artificial intelligence:
A closed round table will bring together 25 experts over the 3 days preceding the congress, with the presentation of the results of their deliberations during the opening session of ISICEM. Artificial intelligence, combined with telemedicine and advances in patient monitoring, will help relieve congestion in emergency departments and hospital units. Some American hospitals are already transferring some patients directly from intensive care units to their homes. Better monitoring of patients in hospital departments will enable earlier recognition of possible deterioration. More treatments will be automated, enabling human interventions to be more specifically targeted.
2-Humainzation of care
Artificial intelligence will not replace caregivers, but on the contrary will allow them to spend more time communicating with patients and relatives. Sedative agents are administered less and patients are instead invited to mobilize (even to swim!), and even to sometimes walk outside the hospital... The concept of visiting hours is disappearing, and the question of the families being present, even during emergencies, is increasingly discussed. Pets have become accepted ‘visitors’. These changes have reduced the frequency and intensity of what we call ‘post-intensive care syndromes’ (PICS). Supervision of units by remote specialists (telemedicine) during night and weekend shifts makes the work more appealing, while preserving the quality of care. Humanization measures make it possible to limit nursing shortages by improving the attractiveness of the profession.
3-Improving pre-hospital ambulance care
Use of a large network of medicalized intensive care ambulances is unsatisfactory due to delays in setting up such a system and associated costs. Thanks to telemedicine and artificial intelligence, ambulance workloads can be better supervised making it possible to orient them toward the most appropriate hospital as well as enabling early treatment (under supervision) to be carried out in the event of a relatively long journey: initial blood tests, transfusion in case of hemorrhage, antibiotics in case of severe infection, etc.
During the opening session of the symposium, the results of several clinical trials will be presented for the very first time, simultaneously with their publication in leading scientific journals. This session will also introduce the importance of a ‘green ICU’.
The formats of the different sessions are evolving, and conferences are reserving more space for demonstrations and simulation sessions, sometimes in collaboration with the industry, which presents its latest devices and technology.
A press conference will be held on Tuesday 19 March from 11:45 am to 12:30 at SQUARE (Salle 201A) - Rue Mont des Arts, 1000 Brussels
For more information and the full program, please visit: www.isicem.org
About the H.U.B
The Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B) is the academic hospital of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), which unites the Jules Bordet institute, the Erasme Hospital and the Queen Fabiola Children’s University Hospital (HUDERF) since 2021. As an international reference center, located in the heart of the Brussels Region, the H.U.B offers high quality general, oncological and pediatric care. This excellent care, accessible to all, is enriched and sustained by a dual approach of scientific research and teaching for the caregivers of tomorrow. In 2022, the H.U.B. is composed of more than 6,000 employees who share the following values: Interest of the patient, Respect, Commitment, Solidarity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the principle of Free enquiry.