Director’s Foreword
Dear Acid-Base Enthusiasts,
It is both a distinct pleasure and honour to extend a warm welcome to the second edition of the Summer School of Clinical Acid Base and Homeostasis. The genesis of this summer school is rooted in the Advanced Acid Base Course, which made its debut in November 2018, being linked to the International Fluid Academy Day (IFAD) in Amsterdam. That event, though buzzing with energy and camaraderie, was constrained by its duration, often leading to sentiments like, “This deserves an entire lecture of its own,” or “We need more time to delve deeper.” Such expressions sowed the seeds for a summer school – a platform to provide ample time and depth to this intricate yet fascinating subject. The inaugural edition in September 2019 surpassed expectations. Plans for the 2nd edition in Copenhagen for September 2020 unfortunately collided with the global tumult of COVID. But now, resilient as ever, we present to you the latest edition of our summer school.
Overarching Objectives of the Summer School
By the conclusion of this course, attendees should be proficient in:
- Interpreting blood gas analyses at the bedside with assurance.
- Outlining the body’s mechanisms in maintaining homeostasis.
- Detailing acid-base equilibria and the buffering of bodily fluids.
- Elucidating gas exchange physiology and the regulation of ventilation.
- Applying, at the bedside, both classical bicarbonate-centric and simplified quantitative physical chemical models, appreciating their complementary roles.
- Engaging in discussions surrounding the differential diagnosis and management of osmolarity disorders.
- Debating the impact of infusion fluids on hemodynamics, organ function, and acid-base balance.
- Proactively preventing and addressing fluid overload in critically ill patients.
This summer school came to fruition with the generous financial backing from the 4EU+ initiative—a collaborative venture amongst Charles University, University of Copenhagen, and University of Milano. Charles University graciously provided the venue at almost no cost, and our dedicated lecturers have kindly refrained from charging lecture fees. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our partners, the CUNI Didaktikon team, and a special acknowledgment to Radka Tichá for her indispensable assistance with course logistics and administration.
May you find this experience both enriching and enjoyable. Welcome to the historic and captivating city of Prague!
Warm regards,
František Duška
Course Director
on behalf of the faculty and course organizers
Programme
Course Faculty and Contributors
David Astapenko
Hradec Králové, Czechia
David Astapenko is an associate professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Charles University and serves as a consultant at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Hradec Králové. His fields of professional interest encompass the intricate aspects of microcirculation, including the endothelial glycocalyx, protection of the organism in post-resuscitation care, and clinical physiology. He is a member of the international research group for microcirculation MiDAS and contributes his expertise as a reviewer for various international journals. In recognition of his achievements, he was honoured with the prestigious Prize of Josef Hlávka for the best students and graduates in 2019. Furthermore, he participated in two summer research attachments at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Serena Brusatori
Milan, Italy
Serena Brusatori is a resident in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Milan, from which she graduated in Medicine with honours in 2018. Between 2021 and 2022 she spent a twelve-month period as a research fellow in Intensive Care at the University Medical Center of Göttingen, Germany. Her main research interests are acid-base physiology, respiratory physiology, and extracorporeal gas exchange.
Pietro Caironi
Turin, Italy
Pietro Caironi is an associate professor at the University of Turin and a specialist in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care. His academic journey included a research fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has been awarded as a finalist of the Cournand and Comroe Young Investigator Award within cardiopulmonary and critical care council of the American Heart Association in 2004 and in 2008 he has received the ECCRN Clinical research Award of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Pietro Caironi serves as a member of the Editorial Board for Minerva Anesthesiologica and contributes his expertise as a reviewer for several renowned international journals. His primary research endeavours are cantered in the field of lung physiology, acute respiratory failure, sepsis, urinary electrolytes, renal function, and fluid therapy.
František Duška
Prague, Czechia
František Duška is the visionary behind the idea of Summer School of Acid Base. He currently holds the position of head of the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, FNKV University Hospital and 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. In addition to research interests in muscle metabolism and bioenergetic failure in critically ill, Franki is an actively practising intensivist with deep interest in medical education. He served as chair of the Division of Professional Development of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and a Director of European Diploma in Intensive Care (EDIC) exam centre in Prague, affirming his dedication to the advancement of critical care medicine. Moreover, he is an editor of the upcoming edition of Stewart’s Textbook of Acid‑Base. Franki loves trout fishing and is a keen beekeeper.
Paul W. G. Elbers
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paul Elbers is an intensivist at VU University Medical Center of Amsterdam UMC. His special interests include medical data science, quantitative acid‑base analysis, fluid therapy, ultrasound, pharmacometrics and human microcirculation. He is known for the www.autokinetics.eu, a project on personalizing antibiotic dosing, www.acidbase.org, a website dedicated to acid-base analysis, and as an editor of the Stewart’s Textbook of Acid-Base.
Luciano Gattinoni
Göttingen, Germany
Luciano Gattinoni presently holds the position of a guest professor at the University of Göttingen. He is an emeritus professor at the University of Milan and a former president of European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). His primary field of interest is respiratory failure, focusing on critical aspects such as extracorporeal CO2 removal, prone positioning, the concept of recruitability, and quantitative analysis of thoracic CT scans. His additional research expertise includes sepsis and acid-base physiology. Luciano Gattinoni is widely recognized not only for his meritorious contributions to the field of science, but also for excellent oratory skills, and firm dedication to the art of teaching.
Lorenzo Giosa
London, UK
Lorenzo Giosa is a clinical and research fellow in the ECMO critical care unit of St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. He obtained a medical degree at the University of Bologna in 2016, and a speciality degree in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Turin in 2022. From 2018 to 2020 he took part in a research placement at the University of Göttingen in the animal lab of prof. Luciano Gattinoni. From 2020 to 2022 he collaborated in several research projects focused on monitoring of non-invasive ventilation under the supervision of prof. Pietro Caironi. Since 2022 he has joined the University of Oxford in the development of a clinical trial investigating a new sensor for continuous monitoring of arterial oxygen tension in the ICU. His main research interests are acid‑base physiology, respiratory monitoring of non-invasive ventilation, control of breathing, physiology of alveolar gases, and extracorporeal circulation.
Theis Skovsgaard Itenov
Copenhagen, Denmark
Theis Skovsgaard Itenov is a specialist in anaesthesia and intensive care. He is an associate professor and senior researcher with responsibility for ICU research at Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. He is an initiator and coordinator on several randomised trials. Theis has a special interest in severe infectious-disease-associated illness and organ failure, including sepsis induced kidney, respiratory, and circulatory failure.
Martin Krbec
Prague, Czechia
Martin Krbec is a young specialist and dedicated researcher employed at FNKV University Hospital and 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University. He completed his General Medicine degree at Charles University in 2017. In 2023, he achieved board certification in the field of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine. In the same year, he completed his bi‑nationally supervised Ph.D. program, jointly conferred by Charles University in Prague and the University of Milan. His doctoral thesis investigates current methodologies for characterizing the acid-base properties of human plasma and identifies potential inaccuracies that may adversely impact the measurement and interpretation of various acid-base parameters.
Thomas Langer
Milan, Italy
Thomas Langer is a researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca and works in a paediatric ICU. He graduated in 2008 in Medicine from the University of Milan and was board certified in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine by the same University in 2014. From 2011 to 2012, he was a research fellow of the National Research Council at the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research in San Antonio, Texas. His main research interests are acid-base physiology, fluid therapy, respiratory physiology, control of breathing and extracorporeal gas exchange.
David Lodahl
Aalborg, Denmark
David Lodahl is a consultant intensivist at the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Aalborg University Hospital. His research interests encompass the utilization of procalcitonin in infection diagnostics, the optimization of ventilator settings, and the intricacies of volume resuscitation. In the realm of academia, he shares his expertise in the fields of respiratory and circulatory physiology.
Manu Malbrain
Leuven, Belgium
Manu Malbrain currently the position of a professor of Critical Care Research at the First Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy of the Medical University of Lublin in Poland. He worked as a head of several ICUs in Belgium. He is current and founding president of the International Fluid Academy (IFA) and is actively involved in the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). In addition to pathophysiology and management of elevated intra‑abdominal pressure, organ-organ crosstalk and hemodynamic monitoring, he is an expert in medical data management, sepsis, and fluid therapy, and he guides hospitals in the roll-out of sepsis and fluid stewardship as a quality project.
Francesco zadek
Milan, Italy
Francesco Zadek is a researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca and a skilled intensivist in a general ICU. He earned his medical degree in 2014 from the University of Milan and in 2020 he was board-certified in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine by the same university. From 2018 to 2020, he was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, working in Warren Zapol’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Since 2020 he has been affiliated with the acid-base research lab of prof. Thomas Langer. His main research interests are acid-base and respiratory physiology, control of breathing, extracorporeal gas exchange, fluid therapy, and continuous renal replacement therapy.
Gallery
Additional Information
Organizing Committee
František Duška Charles University | Course director |
Serena Brusatori University of Milan | Co-director |
Theis Skovsgaard Itenov University of Copenhagen | Co-director |
Martin Krbec Charles University | Co-director |
Radka Tichá Charles University | Event manager |