Thousands join COVID-19 webinar marathon to share best practices

More than 130,000 viewers from an estimated 160 countries participated in the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine’s (ESICM) 7-hour COVID Marathon webinar held on Saturday, March 28. The event - “Intensivists Care for Lives” – included discussions, presentations and Q&As with international experts who exchanged the latest news on supply and ICU bed shortages, triage and protocol preparedness, caring for clinical staff and the need to build stock for future epidemics.  A replay of the webinar supported by Philips is now available at https://esicm-tv.org/covid19. 

Not surprising, discussions centered on the global healthcare system being at overcapacity, particularly the ICU, with a lack of ICU beds, shortage of equipment and supplies, the need for training on equipment such as ventilators and personal protective equipment, and caring for exhausted clinical teams and family members at risk for contracting the virus.  

Other urgent needs highlighted by the presenters include the following recommendations:  

• Continue to leverage WHO guidelines and learnings from early wave countries to prepare for surge and  protect patients and providers;  
• Establish strong change-management leadership along with realistic expectations about quality of care  delivery during the crisis;
• Leverage data and digital tools such as telehealth to innovate around pandemic preparedness and response and enhance robust staff support required across a number of dimensions; e.g., psychological and physical health, home, life, and communication;  
• Accelerate research resulting from the more than 300 trials registered around the globe

“Our ICUs are facing the greatest challenge of recent decades and sadly, many health workers on the front line have also contracted the disease while trying to save the lives of others. We are, however, in this together. Saving lives is, as it always was, our number one priority. We must, however, also look after our own health and wellbeing and this is why it’s so important that the support and resources are in place. For this reason, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine has been actively publishing guidelines and scientific articles, increasing public awareness and supporting its network of intensive care professionals.” - Professor Jozef Kesecioglu, head of Intensive Care Medicine at the Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and ESICM President 

In addition to last week’s COVID-19 marathon, ESICM hosted a second webinar on April 2 to address “How to ventilate COVID-19 patients.” This week’s ESICM webinar will bring together two experts in respiratory failure – Prof. Claude Guerin, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at the Claude Bernard Lyon I University in Lyon, France and Head of the Medical ICI at the Croix Rousse Hospital, Hospices Civils, Lyon, and Dr. Luigi Camporota, consultant intensivist at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, one of the largest ICUs in the UK and the largest of only five nationally-commissioned ARF (Acute Respiratory Failure) centers in the UK – to discuss advanced mechanical ventilation, non-invasive lung imaging and monitoring. 

To access this week’s ESICM webinar and to listen to a recording of the March 28 marathon in its entirety, please visit the ESICM COVID-19 site. For more information on how Philips is addressing the Coronavirus globally, please visit the Philips centralized COVID-19 hub.