ICNA Educational Meeting Angola 2018

Primeiro Simpósio dos Principais Problemas em Neuropediatria (First Symposium on Main Problems in Child Neurology)

Luanda, Angola

DATE: May 15-17, 2018

HOSTING SOCIETY

Sociedade Angolana de Pediatria (SAP)

LOCAL ORGANIZERS

Manuel Leite Cruzeiro M.D. (Child Neurologist)

Francisco Domingos M.D. (President of SAP)

ICNA MEETING ORGANIZER

Sergio Rosemberg M.D.

PARTICIPANTS

142 Participants 

TYPE OF AUDIENCE

Pediatricians: 74

Psychologists: 5

Speech Therapists: 5

Educators: 5

Neurologists: 4

Neurosurgeons; 1

Physiotherapists: 1

Internal Medicine: 4

Psychiatrits: 3

Nurser:4

Non defined: 32

PANEL OF SPEAKERS AND AFFILIATIONS:

Sergio Rosemberg M.D.

Full Professor of Child neurology (Santa Casa of São Paulo School of Medicine) and Full Professor (retired) of Neuropathologi (University of São Paulo School of Medicine).

Fernando Norio Arita M.D.

Chief of Discipline of Child Neurology, (Santa Casa of São Paulo School of Medicine)

Alexander Paciorkowski M.D.

Assistant Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, Neuroscience & Biomedical Genetics (University of Rochester, USA).

TOPICS COVERED

See attached program with the speakers initials in each topic.

The venue of the meeting was in auditorium of the “Hotel Trópico” were the speakers were hosted. The auditorium was very appropriate. Coffee breaks were served in the morning and afternoon sessions. After the lectures, the final of all days, the hosts presented cases for discussion in  very useful interactive sessions.

The organizers were great hosts mainly Dr. Manoel Leite Cuzeiro who took care of the speakers since their arrival till the departure. The team had the opportunity to visit the pediatric hospital “Davi Bernardino”, the biggest of Angola. 

1st Symposium on the Principle Problems in Child Neurology

May 15-17, 2018

Luanda, Angola

MAY 15 – TUESDAY

8:30-9:00 - Opening ceremony.

9:00-9:45 – ILAE new classification of childhood epilepsies  (AP).

9:45-10:30 – Static encephalopathies (cerebral palsy) (SR).

10:30-11:00 – Coffee break.

11:00-11:45 – Autism (FA)

11:45-12:30 – Epileptic syndromes of infancy (AP)

12:30-13:00 – Curriculum minimum for specialization in Child Neurology (AP, SR, FA)

13:00-15:00 – Lunch

15:00-16:00- ADHD (FA)

16:00-18:00 – Interactive session (discussion of cases)

MAY 16 – WEDNESDAY

9:00-9:45 – Non-epileptic paroxysmal events. (AP)

9:45-10:30 – Impact of poverty and malnutrition on the child development. (SR)

10:30-11:00 – Coffee Break.

11:00-11:45 – Neurological aspects of Sickle cell disease. (FA)

11:45-12:30 – Movement disorders. (AP)

13:00-15:00 – Lunch

15:16:00 – Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy of the newborn. (AP)

16:00-18:00 – Interactive session (discussion of cases).

MAY 17 – THURSDAY

9:00-9:45 – Brain tumors. (SR)

9:45-10:30 – Learning disorders. (FA)

10:30-11:00 – Coffee break.

11:00-11:45 – Cerebral malformations. (SR)

11:45-12:30 – Acute flacid paralysis. (SR)

12:30-14:30 – Lunch

14:30-17:00 – Interactive session (discussion of cases).

17:00 – Closing ceremony

REPORT

1st Symposium on the Principle Problems in Child Neurology

Luanda, Angola

Dr. Leite Cruzeiro, Luanda, May 25, 2018

Angola is a country with high childhood mortality, and although that number has fallen in recent years from 115 to 44 deaths per 1000, the mortality rate in children under 5 years of age continue to be among the highest in the world.

Due to the high prevalence of pediatric illnesses overlapping with neurologic disease, the Angolan Society of Pediatrics (SAP) in partnership with the International Child Neurology Association (ICNA) held the 1st Symposium on the Principle Problems in Child Neurology in Luanda, Angola from May 15-17, 2018. Prof. Dr. Sergio Rosemberg, Prof. Dr. Fernando Arita, and Dr. Alex Paciorkowski participated.

The course included 20 hours of lectures covering diverse topics related to epilepsy, static encephalopathy, neurodevelopment, as well as the care of children with sickle cell anemia, CNS neoplasms, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Each day was concluded with a discussion of Angolan cases where questions were answered about diagnosis and/or proposed therapy.

Around 150 participants took part from various specialities, including pediatrics, neurology, psychology, special education, child neurologists, and medical students.

During the three days there was continuous interaction between the presenters and the audience members to answer questions about the subject matter presented. As this was the first course to address this material it was very well received, and was very important for Angola.

At the conclusion of the course a meeting took place to begin discussions about the best approaches to the creation of a two year training program in child neurology for pediatric physicians at the Pediatric Hospital in Luanda.

Upon the conclusion of the course we were convinced that the objective of the course was met, if not surpassed, as demonstrated by the participation of the lecturers as well as the great interest of the audience.

We propose courses with similar characteristics twice a year and the training of more child neurologists to support the great demand of patients in this area, with the support of ICNA and other interested parties.

(TRANSLATED FROM PORTUGUESE)

CHILD NEUROLOGY TRAINING IN ANGOLA

Dr. Luis Bernardino, Luanda, May 24, 2018

At the close of the 1st Symposium on Principle Problems in Child Neurology in Luanda on May 16, 2018, the three professors invited by the International Child Neurology Association (ICNA), Dr. Alex Paciorkowski (AP) from Rochester, NY, USA, Dr. Fernando Arita (FA) and Dr. Sergio Rosemberg (SR), both from Sao Paulo, Brazil, met with their Angolan counterparts: Dr. Francisco Domingos (FD), Director of the Pediatric Hospital of Luanda, Dr. Luis Bernardino (LB), the ex-director, and Dr. Manuel Leite Cruzeiro (MLC), Chief of the Child Neurology Service of the Pediatric Hospital. The objective of this meeting was to organize and try to plan a training program in Child Neurology in Angola, an urgent question as there are only two professionals with this speciality in the country.

The Pediatric Hospital of Luanda has experience cooperating with professionals from Spain and Portugal in training medical specialists on site in Angola, rather than sending physicians abroad for their training. In this manner, over the past years 10 pediatric surgeons, 8 anesthesiologists, two anatomic pathologists, two microbiologists, two cardiologists, and two child neurologists have been trained. The trainees remain connected to their own clinical services in Angola, and have at least a 2-3 weeks rotation in the hospitals and services of the supporting countries. While this method offers very little exposure for the trainees to the  service environment of the supporting countries, it has the merit of focusing the trainees from the beginning on the local reality of patient care in Angola, including the local pathology and also the resources available for diagnosis and treatment. With a partnership between our hospital and the more advanced services from outside the country, along with a desire within our hospital to improve local conditions, an environment can be created in which new medical trainees will practice in the future. Simultaneously, this type of training in the local service is already assisting the population.

This approach was taken into consideration by the visitors, and the following points were agreed upon:

• It is necessary to train now 5 child neurologists
• The trainees should have already completed pediatric training
• Child neurology training will be done over two years, including a stay of one month at a foreign institution
• The curriculum of training will be developed by the course faculty
• The course will be recognized by the College of Pediatrics of the Medical Society of Angola, which authenticates the specialties of General Pediatrics and all pediatric sub-specialties
• The assisting outside services will send during each trimester one faculty member to stay in Angola for one month
• An annual seminar will be held in Luanda administered by senior members of the subspecialty. The final seminar will be considered the final evaluation for the trainee.
• Online teaching and telemedicine, where compatible given time-zone differences, will be utilized