2nd Latin America Summit

10–11 November 2006
Panama City, Panama

Panama City hosted the 2nd Latin America Academy for Infection Management (AIM) Summit Meeting on 10–11 November 2006. The meeting was well attended, with 73 feedback questionnaires being returned. Delegates came from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with Central America being particularly well represented. Just over half the attendees were intensive care physicians and approximately 40% were infectious disease specialists.

The content of the 2-day meeting covered the evidence base for the new treatment paradigm, infection management issues in critical care, the guidelines for the treatment of pneumonia, the current problem of antibiotic resistance in Latin America and selecting the appropriate empiric antibiotic. Three case studies were presented highlighting the need for antibiotic treatment in a diverse range of cases: a patient with multiple traumas from a road traffic accident; a patient with an abdominal gunshot wound; and treatment for a previously hospitalised patient.

The presentations were designed to be relevant to the delegates’ clinical practice and to provide help with prescribing by providing an update on recent developments in empiric antibiotic therapy of nosocomial infections. The meeting appears to have been successful in its aims because over three-quarters of the delegates said that they would be likely to change their clinical practice following the meeting. Overall, the meeting was very well received, with over three-quarters of respondents saying that they would definitely attend a similar meeting in the future.