Regional scientific and practical conference “Palliative Care in Neurology: Focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis”

On February 28-29, 2020, the G. G. Kuvatov Republican clinical hospital hosted the Regional scientific and practical conference Palliative Care in Neurology: Focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The Conference was organized by the Ministry of healthcare of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Bashkir State Medical University and the charity fund Live now (Moscow) with the support of the presidential grants Fund. Technical organizer was the Institute for Healthcare Development.

V. Mustafina, the chief specialist of the Ministry of healthcare of the Republic of Bashkortostan, L. N. Belan, Deputy chief physician for organizational and methodological work of the G. G. Kuvatov Republican clinical hospital, R. V. Magzhanov, Chairman of the society of neurologists of Bashkortostan, Professor of the Neurology department of BSMU, addressed the conference participants with the welcome speech. I. A. Bakulina, chief freelance specialist in palliative care of the Ministry of healthcare of the Republic of Bashkortostan, made the report on the state of palliative care in the Republic. M. A. Kutlubaev, MD, chief freelance neurologist of the Ministry of healthcare of the Republic of Bashkortostan, acting head of the Neurology department at BSMU, devoted his lecture to the diagnosis of motor neuron diseases. L. V. Brylev (Moscow), Ph.D., the medical director of the Live now fund, head of the Neurology department of the V. M. Buyanov City Clinic #1, revealed the issues of assessing and correcting the nutritional status of patients with ALS in his speeches. V. S. Demeshonok, Director of the Service for people with ALS at the GAOORDI Medical clinic (Saint Petersburg), spoke in detailes on the multidisciplinary approach to providing medical care to patients with ALS. E. J. Dichter, a teacher at the Allnurses School of nursing, spoke about difficult decisions in working with patients with ALS (Moscow). The first day of the Conference ended with a review of clinical cases presented by a neurologist, Ph. D. E.V. Pervushina.

The second day was devoted mainly to the problem of respiratory disorders in ALS. V. A. Shtabnitskiy, associate Professor of N.i. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ph.D., gave the lecture on this issue and conducted the demonstration of equipment for respiratory support. The conference ended with a lecture by L. G. Borisenko, a senior patronage nurse, a teacher of care for patients with ALS for relatives and nurses of the Live now fund, who emotionally and in great detail told about the care of patients with ALS.

More than 160 neurologists, specialists in medical palliative care, and therapists, attended the conference. For those who could not attend the lectures, a live broadcast was on the Youtube channel.