Pan Arab congress highlights major advances in patient care in the Middle East

The large delegation, which includes anaesthetists and intensive care experts, will attend the 8th Pan Arab Congress of Anaesthesia in Beirut, Lebanon, which starts this Thursday, with a number of leading specialists presenting papers at the event.

Now in its 16th year, the congress, which is held every two years in one of the Arab countries, is considered to be the largest and most important meeting for anaesthetists and intensive care specialists in the Middle East.

Delegates will have the opportunity to attend a series of clinical discussions, including a unique presentation on robot-assisted cardiac surgery in the Middle East.

'Anaesthesiology is a field of medicine that is able to attract the best and the brightest, and - thanks to improved education and training in the Gulf region - the risks surrounding surgical anaesthesia have plummeted by around 95 percent over the past 20 years,' said Prof. Ahmad Bahr, head of anaesthesia and ICU, Jazeira Hospital, Abu Dhabi, and President of Pan Arab Federation of Anaethesia Societies.

'We're proud to represent the UAE at this event, which is among the world's most influential Congresses in the field of anaesthesia,' he added.

During the event, which is designed to bring together leaders in the fields of anaesthesia and intensive care for three days of high-level discussion and information exchange, delegates will be updated on the latest developments in the two disciplines.

'The standard of training that anaesthetists and intensive care specialists from the Middle East receive makes them world-class, as is evidenced by the massive reduction in mortality rates,' continued Professor Professor Marie-Claire Antakly, president of the Pan Arab Congress of Anaesthesia.

The scientific committee has invited a group of distinguished speakers, including Arab specialists from around the world, as well as experts from Europe and the USA. The program will be presented in various formats, including satellite conferences and posters, and there will be plenary lectures, workshops, and scientific symposia.

The program includes presentations on the latest advances in the field from key opinion leaders in research and clinical practice. Among the topics to be discussed during the event will be an introduction to evidence-based medicine, a discussion on the origin of anaesthesia, and the management of emergent complications after cardiac surgery.

'The aim of the Congress is to provide members of these important specialties the opportunity to come together to exchange information in order to ensure that the profession continually advances,' added Professor Antakly.

Featured in the scientific program will be advances in anaesthesiology, critical care, and pain management, as well as concurrent sessions highlighting important and relevant issues covering the different sub-specialities of anaesthesia.

'Having been involved in the Pan Arab Congress of Anaesthesia since its inception, we are delighted to see how this major event on the medical congress calendar has grown since its inception,' said Ibrahim Aql, general manager of Abbott Laboratories' Gulf regional office.

Abbott Laboratories is a leader in the field of anaesthetics, producing Sevoflurane, the region's most widely-used inhalation anaesthetic product.