ICCAC Sept 2015 draft

ICCAC
V O L U M E
SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:

ISHLT/
ICCAC Collaboration

ICCAC Exchange Award

Pediatric
Coalition Call
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
ISHLT/ICCAC
Collaboration
1
Pan-American
Conference
3
Pediatric
Patient
4
Pediatric
Coalition
5
Presidential
Address
6
ICCAC Exchange Award
7
We Need
YOU!
7
ESAO
8
New Member/
Conferences/
VAD studies
10
4 ,
I S S U E
2
S E P T E M B E R
2 0 1 5
Mission Statement: The International Consortium of Circulatory Assist Clinicians
(ICCAC) is a professional mentoring organization of mechanical circulatory assist device
clinicians, whose mission is to share information, educate and support individuals in
this field to achieve optimal outcomes for patients requiring mechanical circulatory
support, and to support efforts in the area of device clinical research and development.
ISHLT and ICCAC Collaboration
The International Society
of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT)
just
completed its most successful annual meeting in Nice,
France in April 2015.
Growth in the ISHLT annual
meeting and in membership
has been driven in part by the
growth in mechanical circulatory support worldwide and
the development of new therapies for pulmonary hypertension with concomitant increases in abstracts and scientific presentations in these
areas. This complements the
traditional areas of heart and
lung transplantation, heart
failure, pediatrics, nursing,
infectious disease and basic
and translational research.
There has been recognition that the ISHLT would
benefit by expanding ties
with other regions and countries such as Latin America,
Asia, Eastern Europe and
Turkey which have developed robust advanced heart
and lung disease, transplant
and MCS programs but
which have been relatively
isolated from the more established transplant and
MCS centers in North America, Europe and Australia.
To date, a Latin American
Symposium has been held at
the April 2015 ISHLT for
the second time and a Latin
American ISHLT online forum has been established.
An ISHLT sponsored symposium has been held in Turkey in November 2013 and
will be held in Singapore in
November 2015.
Additionally, collaborations with other medical,
health professional and scientific organizations have
been recognized as being
highly desirable. These collaborations would include
joint symposia with other
organizations at the ISHLT
and other meetings, joint
research programs and
grants as well as collaborations to mentor junior faculty. The ISHLT has an upcoming joint Symposium
with the Heart Failure Society of America in September 2015 and planned upcoming joint Symposia at
the American College of
Cardiology Scientific Sessions in April 2016 and other organizations.
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2
Collaboration (cont.)
The I2C2 was first developed in 2014 and formally established in 2015
with Dr. Andreas Zuckermann for Vienna as my
Co-Chair and Chair of the
ISHLT International Relations. The I2C2 Committee includes ISHLT Board
Liaison Dr. Hermann
Reichenspurner and representation from the ISHLT
Councils and the Standards and Guidelines, Finance, and Education
Committee
and
the
ISHLT Registry (the full
Committee membership
can be found on the
ISHLT
website,
www.ishlt.org).
Howard Eisen
I believe that collaboration with the International Consortium of Circulatory Assist Clinicians
is both logical and likely
to be mutually beneficial
to both of our organizations given our joint interest in advancing mechanical circulatory support
and the many individuals
who are members of both
the ICCAC and the
ISHLT. Specifically, a
joint Symposium on adICCAC
vances in mechanical circulatory support at the
2016 ISHLT in Washington DC would be an ideal
approach to collaboration. Free standing Symposia between ICCAC
and ISHLT could also be
developed as well.
On behalf of all of us
on the I2C2 Committee, I
look forward to working
with you to develop educational and scientific
programs and other collaborations on mechanical circulatory support.
Howard J. Eisen, MD
Co-Chair and Chair of InterSociety
International Society of Heart
and Lung Transplantation
Joseph DiPalma MD Family
Professor of Cardiology
Chief, Division of Cardiology
Drexel University College of
Medicine and Hahnemann
University Hospital
From ISHLT website,
“The International Society for Heart and Lung
Transplantation (ISHLT)
is a not-for-profit professional organization with
more than 2,700 members
from over 45 countries
dedicated to improving
the care of patients with
advanced heart or lung
disease through transplantation, mechanical
support and innovative
therapies via research,
education and advocacy.”
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“This
flexibility in
Europe has
its pros and
cons, the
ability to
trial new
devices,
innovation
and ability to
develop new
strategies for
patient
support are
very
exciting.”
3
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4
Discharging Kids, a Coordinator’s Journey
I remember the day
well, when our first patient, a 9 year old was to
be discharged from the
hospital with an internal
LVAD. All the education was complete, all the
equipment was there,
multiple checklists were
meticulously reviewed, I
had 2 parents that were
very responsible, why
was I a nervous wreck?
Mary Mehegan
“All the education was complete, all the
equipment was
there, multiple
checklists were
meticulously
reviewed, I had
2 parents that
were very responsible, why
was I a nervous
wreck?”
ICCAC
What made this first
transition easier was having the family stay in
town for a week or so,
close to the hospital. I
hope it made it easier on
the family and child as
well. Seeing him come
into clinic, doing well, we
all became more comfortable with it. When he
went home, I would skype
with the Mom and the
Being a long time pe- child. We would touch
diatric cardiac ICU nurse, base, he would show me
nothing much rattled me. his dressing and his controller, this was years ago
I was known for being
when, as far as I knew,
the “calm” one, the one
who could perform well not many children were
living at home with a
in the most dramatic of
codes. But all of that oc- VAD.
To secure medical supcurs within the safety of
port this child that lived
my unit, the support of
hours away from the us,
my team, now he was
leaving that safe haven.
the implanting center, we
My personal prepara- reached out to the local
Cardiologist, the one who
tion for this day came
referred him to us in the
from many people, the
adult VAD coordinators first place. He came to
that are across the street, visit us while the child
spending time in the adult was still inpatient and
learned about his VAD
outpatient VAD clinic,
and his care. This was a
the industry’s clinical
specialists, and of course great help to the family,
the wonderful support of and to us, knowing he was
available to help them
our heart failure team.
through. I went to the
local EU, told them about
a child in their community who has a VAD, held
an educational session to
inform them about it.
EMS was also informed
and educational material
was shared electronically,
just so they knew of his
needs in case they were
called to his house. Lastly, the electric company
was informed of a “power
dependent” child living in
that home.
After this boy was
home for a while and his
family felt comfortable,
he returned to school. We
worked with the school
nurse and held a VAD
education day at his
school that teachers, administrators and bus drivers attended. All the
equipment was reviewed,
hands on demonstrations
were performed, and
emergency management
of the device and child
were discussed. An emergency action plan was
written by the school
nurse that was reviewed
and signed.
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Discharging Kids (cont.)
This boy lived with his device for 2 years and
has since been transplanted. From this experience, 7 other patients were discharged after him.
Each one different, with different needs and therefore, different schedules.
Submitted by:
Mary Mehegan, BSN, RN, CCRN
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
VAD Coordinator
Overall, we begin preparing for discharge at
implant, much education is provided to the family
and child to be able to live at home successfully.
Clinic visits are usually once a month, regular
communication with the child’s school occurs
along with shared care with local medical teams
when the opportunity exists. I feel very fortunate
to be able to be part of the heart failure group that
allows me opportunity to help support pediatric
VAD children.
Pediatric Coalition Needs You!
Stay on the cutting edge of what’s happening
in the pediatric VAD world! Collaborate with colleagues across the country, ask the tough questions, problem solve the issues you are dealing
with, learn from others in the pediatric arena. The
Pediatric Coalition needs you! We need members
to participate and recruit to strengthen our field
and to increase knowledge and expertise. Whether
a mentor, a new Vad Coordinator or a new program, we will all improve via collective cooperation.
If you have any interest, please join us on the Pediatric Coalition
conference call scheduled for November 12th, 4pm EST. Contact
Jodie or Gary for more details regarding the next call. Jodie Lantz
([email protected]) or Gary Oldenburg
([email protected])
5
PAGE
President’s Message
6
The ICCAC, now in its
8 year has continued to
push boundaries and improve how mechanical
circulatory support clinicians from around the
world care for this unique
patient population. As a
collaborative international
organization, our ICCAC
membership continues to
grow, as does our involvement in creating a community of practice.
th
Jennifer Beckman
“Further excitement for
ICCAC in the
remainder of
2015 include
International
meeting
awareness,
building a Research Committee, completing core
curriculum and
continuing our
work with best
practice development.”
On behalf of the ICCAC board I would like to
give a heartfelt thank you
to those members who
were able to attend and
participate in our 8th annual meeting which took
place in Nice, France this
past April. We had a great
turnout and were able to
partner with our European
colleagues in a face-toface manner. The meeting
included a diverse international representation to
discuss many topics that
are on the forefront of
care such as: substance
abuse, palliative care, RV
dysfunction and treatment
options as well as a coordinator panel. Thank you
again to all who were able
to participate!
ICCAC Research Committee is forming a corium
of individuals who are interested in MCS related
research. The committee is
working on developing a
scholarship opportunity for
those clinicians looking to
conduct research. The
scholarship will be for
$1500 and the chosen individual will also have an
opportunity to present their
work at the annual meeting.
The Pediatric Committee is moving forward and
creating a team whom care
for durable MCS patients
and their unique challenges. They are currently
meeting approximately
every four months via conference call.
Thomas Schlöglhofer,
our President-Elect is
working along with board
support to fund an exchange program. This program will offer the opportunity for two MCS clinicians from a U.S. and international program to
spend 1 week at each others program to gain further
insight into the differences
of running a successful
program in a unique cul-
ture. These two individuals will present their experiences during our annual
meeting and also be encouraged to submit an
abstract to a major organization. Continue to stay
tuned regarding specifics
to submit your proposed
exchange!
Further excitement for
ICCAC in the remainder
of 2015 include International meeting awareness,
building a Research Committee, completing core
curriculum and continuing our work with best
practice development. On
behalf of the 2015 ICCAC board we are excited
to move our community
further into the future.
Please enjoy this edition
of the ICCAC Newsletter.
We would love to hear
from all of our members,
please do not hesitate to
contact a board member
and reach out to become
actively involved in our
internationally growing
robust community of
practice.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Beckman ARNP,
MSN, RN, CHFN
ICCAC President
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ICCAC Exchange Program
Aim: The ICCAC Exchange Awar d offer s U.S., Eur opean, Australian, Canadian or Asian mechanical circulatory assist clinicians the opportunity to share information
and experience mechanical circulatory support (MCS)
patient management on an international level at a partner
program.
Who can apply?: ICCAC member s inter ested in car ing for MCS patients together with another ICCAC
member of a different mechanical circulatory support
program are encouraged to apply for this exchange
award. To ensure optimal knowledge, exchange and activity, both of the participating MCS centers must fulfill
the following criteria: Minimum of 15 ongoing MCS patients, Minimum of 15 MCS implantations per year, Minimum of 5 MCS in-patients during the exchange week,
At least one MCS outpatient clinic during the exchange
week.
Where to go and how long to stay?: Two ICCAC
members, 1 U.S. and 1 International (e.g. European, Australian, Canadian or Asian), interested in collaborating
on MCS patient management and plan to carry out a
common short project, which can be completed during
the exchange program.
The duration of the exchange period will be a minimum
of two weeks (one at each hospital). The exchange will
be regulated by the host institution (safety, insurance
etc.) and the guest MCS clinician must comply with
these rules.
How to apply?: A complete application consists of the
following: 1. Cover page with personal information of
the two MCS clinicians involved in the exchange. 2.
Exchange proposal written by the two MCS clinicians
involved. 3. Curriculum Vitae of the two MCS clinicians. 4. Letter of support from the MCS Medical Director of the two hosting hospitals. 5. ICCAC Membership confirmation (if not already a member). Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Eligible Costs: ICCAC together with Hear tWar e
Inc. will fund $1750 USD for each MCS clinician to
offset travel/accommodation.
Evaluation Process: The application will be evaluated by three reviewers (ICCAC Board Members)
who are not working in the two institutions involved
in the exchange program. Reviewers will be nominated by the ICCAC Board of Directors.
After the exchange: The two MCS clinicians involved must prepare: 1) An oral presentation regarding their experience at the annual ICCAC Meeting
during the ISHLT 2016 in Washington DC. 2) A summary of the exchange experience as an ICCAC newsletter article. Also, it is encouraged to submit an abstract for the ISHLT 2016 Meeting if clinical relevant
results or scientific findings arise which could improve MCS patient management. Deadlines: Application Submission: Oct 20th 2015 (11:59 p.m. GMT+1)
Notification of Winners: Nov 3rd 2015 (11:59 p.m.
GMT+1) Exchange Start: from Nov15th 2015 Exchange End: March 15th 2016 Submit completed applications to [email protected]
Job
Opportunities
Looking for a way to get involved?
There are several ways YOU
can participate with ICCAC to
make a difference in the MCS
Community.
The Research Committee is
looking for members to help with
developing our ICCAC scholarship program to promote and support research in the MCS field by
VAD Coordinators.
ICCAC is developing a Mentorship Program. This is an informal mentorship to provide
clinical and sometimes emotional
support to novice coordinators.
We all need that “go to” person
to bounce ideas off of. Whether
you can be a mentor or need a
mentor this program can help
others get up to speed quicker,
face a review with more confidence and make life generally
better. Contact Jennifer Beckman at
[email protected]
PAGE
Dawn Christensen
“By sponsoring
coordinator
sessions, ESAO
has helped
ICCAC to provide another
venue for VAD
coordinators
to present research and
network with
colleagues
within the
field.”
8
European Association for Artificial Organs (ESAO)
The 42nd annual European Society of Artificial Organs (ESAO)
conference, entitled
“Artificial Organs Tailor Made” was held 2-5
September 2015 in
Leuven Belgium. The
theme reflects the clinical need to personalized medicine and to
apply this goal to artificial organs. The European Association for
Artificial Organs is a
society of researchers
interested in the crucial
interface between medical device and the human body. Historically,
areas of research concern renal, cardiac and
pulmonary applications. Over the years,
other areas (liver, pancreas, eye, ear, bone,
cell and gene therapy,
biomaterials, tissue engineering, organ preservation, robotics …)
have been developed
and are addressed.
For the first time,
ICCAC was honored to
participate in this
year’s conference and
held a European VAD
Coordinator Meeting
consisting of two sessions
on Thursday 3 September.
International participants from more than 10
countries were in attendance. Participants and
speakers in the VAD Coordinator Meeting hailed
from Europe and the US.
**The first coordinator
session was moderated by
Thomas Schlöglhofer
(Vienna) and Neil
Wrightson (New Castle)
and started with an Overview of ICCAC including
information about where
the society started and
what future opportunities
are available for coordinators. Also included
was an overview of the
ICCAC Exchange Award
given by ICCAC’s President Elect Thomas
Schlöglhofer.
**A review of a portion
of the data from the 2015
VAD Coordinator survey
was presented by Hilde
Bollen (Leuven). She
highlighted some of the
changes that have taken
place over the last several
years regarding the role
and responsibilities of the
VAD coordinator.
**AnneMarie Oppelaar
(Utrecht) held a discussion about Treatment
Challenges in Long
Term VAD Support highlighting some common
issues which have been
described in the literature as well as experiences that the Utrecht team
has encountered and
problem solved.
**An overview of Social
Media in the LVAD
World was presented by
Dawn Christensen (US).
Discussion regarding
internet and social media
use worldwide as well as
opportunities for education of the VAD patient/
caregiver that are currently available were
presented.
**Finally, Nelienke Hulstein (Utrecht), led a discussion about Preventing
Readmissions in the
LVAD Patient.
The second VAD
Coordinator session was
moderated by Dr. Francesco Moscato (Vienna)
and Hilde Bollen
(Leuven). The session
started with a presentation by Neil Wrightson
VOLUME
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(New Castle) regarding Decommissioning of the V A D Following Recovery. It described the novel approach the New Castle group is taking by leaving the HVAD in
place after pump weaning and discontinuation of support.
**Steven Jacobs (Leuven) then led a discussion about the Transition from Heart
Failure Research to Clinical Practice. This led to a long discussion regarding the
benefits and barriers to participation of VAD coordinators in the research arena.
**Thomas Schlöglhofer (Vienna) discussed the research his group is doing with
HVAD Waveform Log Files and how the files can assist in patient management.
**Adverse Event Detection Using Medical Imaging in the HeartMate II was presented by Friedrich Kaufman (Berlin). This presentation included an overview of
techniques described in current literature as well as the work his group is doing in
advanced detection of pump related complications.
Finally, a discussion regarding the VAD coordinator’s link between research and
clinical practice led to an engaging discussion outlining the differences between
VAD team members and how the differences affect the amount of research done
and the role the VAD Coordinator plays in research activities.
We would like to thank the organizers of this year’s ESAO conference for allowing us to participate in the program. We would also like to thank all of the
speakers and participants for the though provoking discussions during the sessions.
The meeting was a great success. ICCAC looks forward to being able to participate
in future meetings. By sponsoring coordinator sessions, ESAO has helped ICCAC
to provide another venue for VAD coordinators to present research and network
with colleagues within the field.
Submitted by:
Dawn Christensen MS, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC
Founding Member/Past President ICCAC
Innovative Program Solutions, LLC
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9
Instructions for New Members/Renewals
Please go to the ICCAC website at www.vadcoordinator.org to register for and to pay your membership.
Click "membership" on the top right of the main page. Fill out the membership form entirely.
You will be directed to PayPal to pay for your membership.
Log in to PayPal or create an account if needed. The amount of your membership will be shown
at the top of the invoice. Once completed, you will receive a confirmation of payment. You can
print the receipt for your records straight from the PayPal site.
Thank you for your continued support of ICCAC! Questions? Contact Membership Chair
Pam Combs at [email protected]
Have an article you would like to submit for the newsletter? Have a
topic you would like addressed? Suggestions? Email:
[email protected]
Calendar of Events/Studies
Keeping your center privy to the
current trends in MCS will benefit International Society of Heart and
your patients. Plan ahead to attend Lung Transplantation (ISHLT)
conference(s) that support you in April 27-30, 2016 Washington DC
this goal.
American Society for Artificial
Internal Organs (ASAIO) June 15-18,
Since 2008 ICCAC has held it’s
2016 San Francisco
annual meeting in conjunction
with the ISHLT Annual Meeting
For a comprehensive list of conferand Scientific Sessions.
ences go to MyLVAD.com, login,
LVAS) in 10 patients.
Jarvik DT Post Auricular– Study assessing the Jarvik LVAD in patients
requiring destination therapy support.
Behind the ear driveline connection.
Jarvik BTT Cap– Study assessing
Jarvik LVAD in patients requiring support as a bridge to transplant. Abdominal cable driveline.
RECOVER STUDY-A study using
data collected from patients who have
LVAD, to better assess heart recovery
click under Medical Professionals
and to generate criteria for identifying
ICCAC Annual Meeting– April then LVAD Coordinators. There is a patients eligible for the removal of
26 or 27, 2016 Washington DC tab for Conferences & Clinic Educa- LVAD support. Study will last up to 3
tion.
years.
Heart Failure Society of America
Octreotide Study-The goal of this pro(HFSA) September 26-29, 2015
ject is to study whether the regular adVAD
Studies:
Washington, D.C.
ministration of monthly Octreotide is
RESTAGE– A study to determine the
European Mechanical Circulatory number of patients who have improve- safe and if it will decrease the incidence
Support Summit (EUMS) Decem- ment in heart function & symptoms after of gastrointestinal bleeding in LVAD
patients.
HeartMate II LVAD and heart failure
ber 2-5, 2015 Pairs, France
medication therapy allowing for the re- There are dozens of listed trials on the
ClinicalTrials.gov site. Take time to
moval of the VAD.
Heart Failure Association of the
review a few to see areas of research
HeartMate
3The
pur
pose
of
this
European Society of Cardiology
which could effect patient care down the
study
is
to
evaluate
a
less
invasive
im(HFA of ESC) Winter Symposiplantation technique of the HeartMate 3 road.
um Jan 20-23 2016, Switzerland
Left Ventricular Assist System (HM 3
Jeni Colarusso, University of Utah, Editor-in-Chief