World congress

The organising committee of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive Critical Care and Medicine (WFSICCM) congress is hard at work planning this major event set to happen in Durban from 28 August to 1 September 2013. The theme of the meeting is ‘Critical Care for All – Providing More for Less’. Speakers from all over the world are being lined up and the medical industry is already buying up stands and sponsorships. Visit the congress website (http://www.criticalcare2013.com) and make sure that you do not miss out on this once-in-a lifetime event.

Refresher course

The Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA) National Refresher Course will be held from 24 - 25 November 2012 at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. Busses will be provided to transport delegates from the Gautrain to the meeting.

Certificate in Critical Care

Progress has been made with the Colleges of Medicine in that a formal inter-collegiate committee of Critical Care Medicine has been established to supervise this exam. This is by no means an easy exam, with only three of the seven candidates passing at the most recent examination. Congratulations to our new Critical Care sub-specialists. Plans are to introduce a logbook for candidates and include a clinical component to the exam.

Prevalence of infection in South African intensive care units (PISA) study

The results of this landmark study on infection and antibiotic use in South African intensive care units (ICUs) have finally been published. Many Society members contributed to data collection in ICUs around the country in this one-day prevalence study performed on 16 August 2005. Results showed a high incidence of inappropriate antibiotic use, and a higher mortality associated with inappropriate antibiotic selection. Antibiotics are often administered for too long and not de-escalated when sensitivity results become available. See Paruk F et al. S Afr Med J 2012;102(7):613.