Dear Colleagues​,

On behalf of the board of directors of ESRA and members of the Organising Committee we invite you to join us in Ljubljana for the 34^th Annual ESRA Congress - State of the Art Safety Standards in Regional Anaesthesia.

Since its foundation in 1980, ESRA has sought to associate and affiliate into one organization all anaesthesiologists, physicians and scientists who are engaged in, or interested in, the techniques of regional anaesthesia for surgery, obstetrics, paediatrics and pain control.

As in previous years, the focus of the scientific programme will be on state of the art presentations in our field as well as new insights into basic science, clinical research and therapeutic interventions. We are creating a scientific programme in which the interaction between speakers and audience is to be continuous and the basic aim for the scientific programme. The scientific standard at the annual ESRA congress is now recognised as one of the best in Europe and as a result carries a high rating with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, who assign credit hours to all ESRA congresses.

The Scientific Committee is developing a programme with topics covering all the fields of interest in the application of regional anaesthesia/analgesia alone or in multimodal approach. Acute and chronic pain management topics of special interest for anaesthesiologists will also be included as an important part of the programme.

The type of sessions will be refresher course lectures, symposia, pro/con debates, panel discussions, luncheon sessions, special workshops including cadaver workshops, and of course free paper and poster presentations. Residents are invited to submit their papers for inclusion in the ESRA Resident Best Free Paper and the ESRA Best Poster Award competitions.

For those participants who successfully completed the first part (written exam) of the ESRA Diploma in Seville, 2014, the second part (practical) will take place during the Ljubljana Congress along with the written exam for those who wish to register for the Certified ESRA Diploma on Regional Anaesthesia.

We very much expect you to enjoy this exciting anaesthesia congress set in Ljubljana!

Barry Nicholls                               José De Andrés
General Secretary                       President of ESRA​

Participants interested in presenting E-POSTER or FREE PAPER presentations are invited to submit an abstract. All abstracts will undergo peer review by the Abstract Review Committee and may be accepted for a free paper presentation, E-Poster presentation or rejected.

ABSTRACT TOPICS

• Central Nerve Blocks
  
• Peripheral Nerve Blocks
  
• Obstetric
  
• Postoperative Pain Management
  
• Chronic Pain Management
  
• Pediatric
  
• Case Reports
  
• Miscellaneous
  

ETHICAL APPROVAL

Local animal or human ethics committee approval may be required before the abstract is considered for presentation and publication. A statement indicating ethics committee approval has been granted should be incorporated into the abstract and you will be requested to confirm that approval has been received before you submit your abstract. Abstracts which have not received approval will not be accepted.

BEST FREE PAPERS/BEST E-POSTER COMPETITION

Papers may also be submitted for the ESRA Best Free Papers (residents only) and the Best E-Poster Competition. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 papers in each category based on accumulated scores of both abstract and presentation. If you would like to be considered, please indicate this on your abstract submission form.