Foundation Course in Haemodynamics

Haemodynamics Pathway Director:

Xavier MONNET MD, PhD, Professor of Intensive Care, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Bicêtre Hospital, Paris-Saclay University Hospitals, Paris, France; Chair Cardiovascular Dynamics Section, ESICM

Course Directors Level 1:

• Jan BENES MD, PhD Professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive care medicine, Head of Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine in Plzen Charles University, Czech Republic
• Marco MAGGIORINI MD Professor & Chair of the Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

Endorsement: The course is endorsed by the Cardiovascular Dynamics Section, ESICM.

• Understand the determinants of arterial pressure and cardiac output
• Explain the importance of tissue hypoperfusion and the pathophysiology of shock states
• Understand and apply the principles of arterial blood pressure monitoring
• Outline basic concepts of cardiac output monitoring
• Recognize the clinical symptoms and basic echocardiographic features of shock
• Understand the fundamentals of fluid and vasoactive therapy

• Physiology
  • Determinants of arterial pressure
  • Determinants of cardiac output and global oxygen delivery
  • Basic physiology of shock states
  • Tissue oxygenation and the importance of lactate
• Fluid therapy fundamentals
  • Types of fluids
  • Physiological effects of fluid infusion
  • ROSE concept
• Basic pharmacotherapy of shock states
  • Norepinephrine
  • Dobutamine
• Clinical indices of shock state and tissue malperfusion
• Interpretation of arterial pressure
• Why and when should one monitor cardiac output – basic considerations
• Methods of monitoring cardiac output basic concepts
  • Pulse contour analysis
  • Thermodilution
• ECHO – Basic hemodynamic examination protocol

A total of 5 fellowships will be conducted in centres around Europe, giving fellows the opportunity to experience haemodynamic monitoring in real-life settings and learn directly from experts. Fellowship-related costs (accommodation and travel) up to 1000 EUR/fellow will be reimbursed by ESICM. 

Eligibility for fellowships:

• Must be a member of the ESICM (so join us now if not already a member!)
• Must attend at least 2 levels of the Haemodynamics pathway within 1 year
• Fellowships will be awarded on basis of attendance at the course and highest performance in the post-course evaluation.

Fellowship center, dates and mentors to be confirmed at a later stage

Note! Priority will be given to those participants who haven’t benefitted from a fellowship on this topic before. 

This Foundation course is particularly suitable for trainees in their first years of training in intensive care medicine. However any practitioner who wishes to refresh the fundamentals of Haemodynamics is welcome.

IMPORTANT! A total of 10 places will be offered for FREE to participants coming from Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), as per the World Bank classification. If you are interested to apply for an LMIC place, send us your letter of interest and CV to education@esicm.org. Applicants from LMIC may be selected for a maximum of 3 ESICM eCourses for FREE every year. Applicants who have participated in 1 eCourse as a free LMIC applicant need to have an active ESICM membership for the current year before applying again.

The Foundation Course in Haemodynamics, Virtual, Belgium 10/12/2024 – 11/12/2024, has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) with 13.0 European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Each medical specialist should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.
Through an agreement between the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes and the American Medical Association, physicians may convert EACCME® credits to an equivalent number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Information on the process to convert EACCME® credit to AMA credit can be found at https://edhub.ama-assn.org/pages/applications.
Live educational activities, occurring outside of Canada, recognised by the UEMS-EACCME® for ECMEC®s are deemed to be Accredited Group Learning Activities (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

The first edition of the Foundation Course provided an introduction to Haemodynamics to 97 participants from 47 countries. Here’s what they particularly enjoyed about it:

• Possibility to virtually attend the classes with high-profile specialists, the interaction between the panel and students.
• The emphasis on the clinical aspect of the haemodynamic evaluation as well as the clinical application and interpretation of the parameters measured during haemodynamic monitoring.
• Giving proper examples complete with data from various studies that support the information.
• Geat amount of information relevant to the clinical practice.
• The instructors were presenting evidence-based information, combining it with bits and pieces from their personal experience.

Social media: @ESICM #haemodynamics