Neuromonitoring 2008 Cape Town, Friday October 17 Part I: Morning Advances in Critical Care Monitoring for Paediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are continually challenged by the complexity of treating severe brain injury. The universal application of protocols to patients is frustrated by major inter-individual, spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Moreover, age-related physiological changes present unique difficulties in the management of children. In recent years, new monitoring technologies have provided opportunities to obtain more information about pathophysiological disturbances, enabling targeted treatment for individuals. In this half-day symposium, we will discuss the roles of new strategies for brain injury monitoring, challenges to research, and ways in which outcome may be improved.
Looking forward to seeing you in Cape Town,

Tony Figaji and Graham Fieggen

Preliminary Faculty

Anthony Figaji: Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Cape Town, South Africa

Graham Fieggen: Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Professor and Head, Division of Neurosurgery, Cape Town, South Africa

David Adelson: Paediatric Neurosurgeon and Professor of Neurological Surgery, Pittsburgh, US. First author of the Guidelines for the Management of Severe TBI in Children.

Ross Bullock: Neurosurgeon; Miami, US. Deputy Editor of Journal of Neurotrauma and first author of the Brain Trauma Foundation’s Guidelines for the Management of Severe TBI (Adult).

Peter LeRoux: Vice Chairman, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, US.

Carl-Heinrik Nordstrom: Neurosurgeon, Lund University, Sweden. Co-founder of the Lund concept of managing severe head injury and one of the developers of clinical microdialysis

Peter Siesjo: Paediatric and General Neurosurgeon, Lund University, Sweden

Andrew Argent: Head of PICU, Cape Town, SA. President of the World Federation of Paediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.

Preliminary Scientific Program

08h00-13h00

Session I: Pediatric TBI monitoring: an overview 1. Clinical and demographic considerations in pediatric TBI: Graham Fieggen 2. Monitoring the injured brain – historical overview and rationale: Ross Bullock 3. Guidelines for pediatric severe traumatic injury management – what have we learned?: David Adelson 4. Managing the critically ill child: Andrew Argent

Session II: Basic sciences and clinical applications 5. TBI metabolism: Carl-Heinrik Nordstrom 6. Inflammatory mechanisms in TBI: Peter Siesjo 7. Biomarkers in childhood head injury: David Adelson

Session III: Specific monitoring techniques 8. Intracranial pressure monitoring in the modern world – treating more than a number?: Ross Bullock 9. Methods for monitoring brain oxygenation in the neurocritical care unit: Peter LeRoux 10. Brain tissue oxygen monitoring in children: Tony Figaji 11. Clinical microdialysis in head injury: Carl Heinrik Nordstrom 12. Cerebral autoregulation in childhood TBI – pathophysiology, monitoring and managing: Tony Figaji 13. Continuous electrophysiological monitoring in the ICU: TBA