Annual Report 2007
Acute Pain Special Interest Group
Executive
The Executive composition is as follows:
Dr Richard Halliwell NSW
Dr Steve Jones (Chair) NZ
Dr James Sartain Qld
Prof Stephan Schug WA
Dr Jenny Elson WA
Dr Jane Trinca Vic
Dr Frank Lah ACT
Dr Kylie Stanton Tas
Dr Meredith Craigie has stood down from the executive for personal reasons but in the absence of another representative from the state will serve as a link person for SA.
Dr Lachlan Doughty has since resigned from the executive and has been replaced by Dr Kylie Stanton. Dr Jane Trinca will take over as chair of the SIG following the next teleconference in February 2008
Continuing Education Activities
ASA Perth October 2007
The proposed theme of this meeting’s Acute Pain SIG session changed from the original proposal of the Safety of Acute Pain modalities, to focus on the increasing spectrum of systemic adjuvants to opioids in the management of acute pain. This change was made to accommodate the due to availability and expertise of visiting speakers. Presentations were given by Dr Raymond Goy from Singapore on the gabanoids, by Prof Peter Kam on the alpha-2 agonists, by Dr Eric Visser on Ketamine and Calcitonin with a review of the efficacy of paracetamol and NSAIDs by myself.
NZAEC ASM Auckland November 7-10 2007
Henry McQuay, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Anaesthesia at Oxford was the invited speaker for this meeting. There was one designated acute pain session where Prof McQuay explored the strength of evidence supporting the use of combination analgesic therapy with the topic: “Multimodal therapy or polypharmacy?” The Chair supported this session with a wide ranging review of “Hot NSAID topics”. The third speaker was Dr Bill Roberts from Vermont, USA on the topic: “Waking up to pain scores”.
This meeting was not conducted as a formal SIG session but as an informal collaboration with the scientific convenor in view of the advise from ACECC that SIGs could have one session or single theme meeting. There is, however, demand for much more acute pain material in the course of the year and the SIG is ideally placed to assist with organising sessions. Having initially declined an invitation to participate in the Colleges Sydney meeting, we were again approached and asked to participate at a relatively late stage which was challenging for both the Scientific Convenor and the SIG.
Future meetings
ANZCA ASM Sydney May 2008
Dr Richard Halliwell has kindly organised this SIG session and is also speaking on the use of gabapentin and pregabalin as opioid adjuncts. Dr Brett Rogers is talking about the hepatotoxicity of analgesic agents and Prof Stephan Schug is reviewing the choice of opioids. This year the Acute Pain SIG session will be held on Sunday 4th May at the end of the FPM programme.
Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) 18th to 20th September 2008
The SIG is joining the FPM for their second annual spring meeting with a theme: “Pain at the Centre” (the centre also being the meeting points of anaesthesia, acute pain and chronic pain). The scientific programme is still under development but will explore areas of overlap between acute and chronic pain as well as a session on evaluating and managing the interactions between individual analgesic, anti-emetic and adjuvant medications. We have been well supported by Christine Gill and Helen Morris and are on track as per the time line prepared for the meeting
ACECC
The chair was unable to attend the ACECC meeting in Perth as it clashed with his presentation
STEVE JONES
Chairman
