On behalf of the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) and the National Organising Committee (NOC), it is a pleasure to invite you cordially to join Euroanaesthesia 2015, the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA), in Berlin, Germany. It is a great honour to host the Euroanaesthesia Congress in our capital from 30 May to 2 June, 2015.

Euroanaesthesia is recognised as one of the largest and most prestigious anaesthesiology congresses in the world, aiming to present the highest standards of practice and safety in anaesthesia, perioperative medicine, intensive care, emergency medicine and pain treatment. The broad spectrum of recent clinical practices and innovative therapies in all fields will be addressed in the numerous sessions, refresher courses and workshops. The latest scientific data and results from basic and clinical research will be presented and discussed with experts from all over the world complemented by the variety of educational sessions. The contribution of international expertise and clinical experience will provide a great opportunity to gain further knowledge and improvement of clinical practice and patient care. Furthermore, the congress will offer the most up-to-date information and exhibit state-of-the-art technology of for example monitoring devices to improve patient safety.

Challenging issues in many European countries are the increasing numbers of high risk patients undergoing major surgery requiring an elaborate and costly treatment in the intensive care unit. With a higher demand of surgical and diagnostic procedures performed under general or regional anaesthesia, further organisation of OR-management and perioperative processes supported by IT-infrastructure is warranted. The ongoing economic pressure on health care providers to reduce costs as well as the shortage of personnel and, the optimisation of ICU resources remains an important objective in European hospitals.

What does remain on top of the list of clinical objectives is the continued ethical and medical responsibility we have as medical professionals to patients and families, particularly during palliative care. At present, there is an increasing demand for anaesthesiologists, and so current challenges are to recruit young physicians and clinical scientists to our speciality. This can only be achieved by providing excellent clinical training and promoting research in all fields of anaesthesiology as well as offering family-friendly working hours. For the future, in order to maintain anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine and the remaining subspecialties as attractive medical disciplines we need to characterise and promote these areas of medicine as “Strength through diversity”, making our profession highly competitive with great potential to draw in the best medical students.

Surrounding the congress centre is the exciting capital Berlin. This historical city has many famous museums and a variety of cultural events, therefore offering a wealth of inspiring and relaxing moments.

Again a warm welcome to Berlin and we look forward to sharing with you the highlights of Euroanaesthesia 2015

Thea Koch, DGAI President Elect

Find more information, online registration, preliminary program and more at

Euroanaesthesia 2015 webpage