News from the European Pain Federation EFIC Chapters – March 2024

Belgian Pain Society Congress 2024- Sex and Gender Disparities in Pain

The Annual Scientific Congress of the Belgian Pain Society will take place on Saturday 1 June 2024 at Bluepoint Conference Centre, Bd A. Reyers 80, 1030 Brussels.The topic is “Sex, Gender and Chronic Pain”. 

For program and registration click here.

What’s new in the French EFIC Chapter?

The annual congress of the French Pain Society took place in November 2024 in the city of Saint Malo. It was a resounding success with over 1500 participants.

Two satellite events enriched our congress:

The “Franco-Québécois Jacques Cartier Pain Symposium,” which brought together internationally renowned researchers. It stands out as one of the most prestigious Francophone symposiums of the past 20 years.

The second edition of “PAINtalks” – “Parlons Douleur,” an interactive public conference in a short, engaging format.

Political Update: Access to Intrathecal Analgesia

As the government is formulating the decade-long strategic plan for palliative care, pain, and end-of-life, the SFETD emphasizes that only 1 in 10 patients experiencing refractory pain at the end of life, who could benefit from intrathecal analgesia in France, currently has access. The SFETD urges the government to develop interventional platforms for pain management in all regions of France.

ToolBOX for intrathecal therapy

To enhance access to intrathecal therapy, a committee of the French Society of Pain Evaluation and Management has decided to create an English-language information toolbox for its website. The goal is to encourage physicians to consider intrathecal therapy for cancer patients who could benefit from it. Despite being known for over 30 years, this technique is underused due to lack of awareness, fear of complications, absence of coordination with implantation specialists, or perceived invasiveness.

Since 2022, French specialists have had access to the French-language version of the toolbox, which has proven to be highly useful. It provides comprehensive information on various aspects of intrathecal drug delivery, including indications, chemistry relationships, surgical techniques, complications, end-of-life management, other medication management, programming, and pump refilling. The data are regularly updated.

Well-conducted intrathecal drug delivery not only reduces pain but also improves the quality of life, tolerance of cancer treatments, and survival. The broader dissemination of this technique is crucial for enhancing the care of cancer patients. Hence, the decision to translate the toolbox into English as the first step in educating physicians working with patients experiencing cancer-related pain.

Contact: valeria.martinez@aphp.fr

NATIONAL NEWS OF HUNGARIAN PAIN SOCIETY – 2024

1. In 2024, our Society restarted the 3-semester, accredited methodological training of “Chronic pain therapy” (Semmelweis University, Budapest.). The first semester’s 32-hour course started in January and lasts until April, the second semester’s course begins in September. Our lecturers are excellent representatives of their respective fields, who willingly undertook this pioneering task.
2. In May, we will hold further training for general practitioners in Budapest on the topic of acute and chronic pain therapy.
3. At the congress of the Hungarian Neurological Society in Szeged, on June 20, we will hold three hands on/work shops. Cervical and lumbar spine, SIJ
4. Our 2024 congress will be held in Siófok on November 8-9, its program has been completed and its accreditation is in progress. Detailed program on our website.

Main topics:

• New opportunities and challenges in pain therapy
• IASP Global Year about Sex and Gender Disparities in Pain I-II.
• Peripheral and central sensitization
• Molecular scalpel: targeted (intrathecal, epidural and intraarticular) resiniferatoxin for permanent pain relief in osteoarthritis and cancer patients
• The role of online space in pain therapy
• Invasive pain therapy
• Lectures of your choice

5. In December, we hold an accredited training course for general practitioners on the topic of cancer pain relief.
6. We are translating the fact sheets of the Global Year about Sex and Gender Disparities in Pain into Hungarian, and they are being uploaded to our website and the IASP website.
7. Five working groups of our company have started work.

• Chronic pain therapy for the specialist exam section
• Children’s pain therapy session
• Psychological section
• Pharmacological section
• Financing section

8. We are constantly uploading current events to our Facebook page.

Erika Budai MD, FIPP

president

 IX NATIONAL PAIN UNITS MEETING

19.OCT | Coimbra – Portugal

As part of the initiatives developed to mark the National Day Against Pain, APED is organizing a national event to bring together all pain units in the country.  This event aims to discuss the future of care within these units, ranging from patient referrals to intervention approaches and nursing in pain management, as well as proposing discharge criteria for a Chronic Pain Unit.

The program includes 2 workshops:

• Pain Intervention: Peripheral Neurostimulation
• Pain Nursing

Position Papers

“Strong Opioid Medications in Chronic Non-Cancer Pain” and “Cannabinoids in chronic pain”

Pain is an increasingly complex issue that requires the continual updating of therapeutic approaches.

Recognizing this necessity, APED – the Portuguese Association for the Study of Pain – has developed recommendations for the use of strong opioid medications in chronic non-cancer pain and for the use of cannabinoids in chronic pain management.

This update aims to address the needs expressed by health professionals working in the field of pain management. It seeks to contribute to better professional practices in managing chronic pain, resulting in improved care for individuals experiencing pain.

• Read the Position Paper “Strong Opioid Medications in Chronic Non-Oncological Pain” (PT version) here: dor.pt
• Read the Position Paper “Cannabinoids in chronic pain“ (PT version) here: dor.pt

BOOK COLLECTION “HOT TOPICS IN PAIN”

Upcoming release “Advanced Intervention Techniques”

This collection aims to facilitate the dissemination of the latest scientific research and therapeutic approaches related to chronic pain.

• Available for download in http://www.aped-dor.org the following volumes:

– “Irruptive Oncological Pain”

– “Low Back Pain – Non-Invasive Treatment”

– “Peripheral Neuropathic Pain”

• NEXT BOOKS RELEASES:
  • “Advanced Intervention Techniques”
  • “Anti-Inflammatories In Pain

Dear MSSMP friends and colleagues,

We hope that you had a productive start to 2024 moving forward in medical science and clinical practice.

In 2023 our special elaborated program for rural area education “The Roadshow” was a success. Last year, there were seminars in 5 districts: Briceni, Drochia, Comrat, Criuleni, and Orhei. The educational core of society decided to continue delivering contemporary knowledge regarding pain management for medical practitioners from different districts of our country. At the moment of publication of this newsletter, 4 meetings are already planned in Glodeni, Ştefan Vodă, Edineț and Sângerei. It is planned to have a practical workshop to discuss complicated clinical cases of chronic pain and the strategy for managing the pain.

We continue to work on promoting the importance of pain reporting among the general population via awareness campaigns. In March 2024 we are expected in Salzburg, Austria to have a satellite event during the Interdisciplinary Meeting on Major Perioperative Aspects of Organ Transplantation. Together with well-known artists from the ArtForum Salzburg, we will explore the importance of communication in pain management. This event will continue the series of performances organized by the Moldovan Society of the Study and Management of Pain: “Show Me Your Pain” (2016), “Show Me Your Pain Vol. II” (2017). “Show me your pain Vol.III” will be a mixture of art and science, happening live and onsite. We are looking forward to this collaboration.

To initiate the comprehensive discussion with the medical community involved in pain management, stakeholders, and patient societies, on the 3rd of May 2024, we are planning to organize the first meeting of the National Platform on Pain Management. The decisions for improving the clinical and population approaches in pain management should be based on the compromise and consensus between patients and medical professionals. The meeting will also include recommendations from international-level experts.

We expect the invited leaders of professional organizations to take part in the meeting to expose the professional vision of the future steps that should be taken for the national-level improvement of the pain management field.

Let’s make 2024 the year of action to ensure future improvement in pain management.

Sincerely,

Iana Burmistr

on behalf of the Moldovan Society for the Study and Management of Pain

The Russian Association for the Study of Pain (RASP) is a leading association of specialists dealing with the problem of pain in Russia.

The goals of the society are to promote the development of scientific and clinical research, promote advanced knowledge in the field of pain medicine, and create and support an analgesic service in Russia.

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation approved the clinical recommendations of the RASP on diseases in 2023:

• Discogenic lumbosacral radiculopathy;
• Musculoskeletal (nonspecific) low back pain.

Since 2024, face-to-face practical schools of the RASP “Pain Medicine – from theory to practice 2024!” have been organized, taking place in various cities of the Russian Federation. Within the framework of the School, the main provisions of clinical recommendations are presented for the first time and practical aspects of their application are demonstrated. Participants of the school will be able to master the skills of neuroorthopedic examination, methods of modern diagnosis of low back pain, radiculopathy, principles of identifying the risks of chronic pain.

Also, the Russian Association for the Study of Pain has created the All-Russian educational project “RASP ONLINE – Pain Medicine in questions and answers 2024!” At a time convenient for different regions of Russia, educational webinars will be presented to the audience, which will be held in a unique discussion format and will address the most pressing issues of differential diagnosis and treatment of pain.

In April 2024, the XII All-Russian Scientific and practical conference “Low back pain – an multidisciplinary problem 2024” is planned, in May 2024 – the XXX All-Russian Scientific and practical conference of the RASP “Pain Medicine – from understanding to action 2024”, in October 2024 – the V Russian-Belarusian scientific and practical conference “Pain Treatment without borders 2024″. The main goal is to spread advanced knowledge on the problem of pain, improve the interaction of doctors of various specialties in the complex therapy of patients with pain syndromes and exchange experience on the organization of specialized analgesic care.

In June 2024, the Russian Association for the Study of Pain will hold the second educational school for young scientists “Pain Medicine – from Theory to Practice 2024” on the basis of the unique medical center of the Zvenigorod Sechenov University sanatorium.

In 2023, a new project, ЦентрБоли.рф, was launched. The main tasks are to provide solid and scientifically based information on pain treatment for patients, inform about existing clinics and pain centers in Russia, support the creation and development of clinics and pain centers in Russia.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Welcome to the first BPS Chapter news in 2024. The British Pain Society welcomes the opportunity to provide an update on our recent, current and future works which we hope will be of significant interest to the EFIC community.

Plans for the Annual Scientific Meeting are well underway and have been picking up pace over the last few weeks. It promises to be a meeting that demonstrates the many facets of pain management with an outstanding multidisciplinary faculty. In addition to the BPS and Patrick Wall lectures, the plenary sessions will include topics such as women’s health and inequalities in accessing pain services. There was a record number of workshop submissions, which created much discussion and dilemmas for the Scientific Programme Committee. However, there really should be something for everybody in the programme.

The call for abstracts was sent to all members just before Christmas and the deadline for submission was 31 January 2024. This is a great opportunity to showcase your work and to discuss with colleagues from across the UK and beyond. Accepted abstracts submitted before this deadline will be published in a Supplement of the British Journal of Pain. There will be opportunity to submit late- breaking abstracts later, however these will not be published in the British Journal of Pain.

One of the innovations last year at the ASM last year was the inclusion of oral presentation sessions in addition to posters. Following their success these sessions will be repeated this year, and there is the opportunity for provide a preference for poster or oral presentation when submitting.

We are delighted to announce that the ASM will be immediately preceded on 3^rd June 2024 by a SIG Preconference created jointly by the Primary & Community Care and Pain Management Programme SIGs. Key information is available on the BPS webpage here.

This leads nicely onto our refresh of the BPS website which has a clean, attractive, and more corporate appearance that offers improved user-friendliness and easier navigation to content. We are currently working on the next phase of content review – please keep checking in on the site to see our progress and offer constructive feedback.

We have held a successful webinar on Placebo Controlled Trials in Surgery and Physical or Psychological Pain Management. Bookings are now open for our next BPS webinars: Chronic pain and the menopause/perimenopause and Older People’s Pain SIG. All the information is available here.

If you missed our recent webinars on Nutrition and Chronic Pain Management and on Placebo Controlled Trials in Surgery and Physical or Psychological Pain Management, we would like to inform you that the recordings are available via the BPS youtube channel. View the recordings here

We look forward to seeing all those who can attend the ASM this year.