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Microcirculatory and mitochondrial dysfunction has long been recognized to underlie many disorders encountered in critically ill patients. In the past such insights have been mainly obtained from experimental investigations. More recently, application of new techniques have revealed their clinical importance in humans. These findings were presented at the highly successful first International Symposium on Microcirculation and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Intensive Care Medicine in 2003.

Since then much has happened. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that microcirculation and mitochondrial dysfunction is a key phase in the pathogenesis of sepsis and shock. It is also clear that these alterations are not being detected by conventional systemic hemodynamic monitoring methods. Therefore, new techniques aimed specifically at the microcirculation and mitochondria need to be applied.

Investigations are showing that successful response of systemic variables to therapy does not always result in a similar improvement of microcirculatory and mitochondrial function. The challenge now is to evaluate how these findings relate to the clinical practice and treatment of critical illness. How do standard as well as new resuscitation procedures affect microcirculatory and mitochondrial function during critical illness? What are the properties of the microcirculation of different organ systems and how to deal with heterogeneity? What will the future role of these compartments be in clinical practice now that they can be evaluated at the bedside? And maybe most importantly can these compartments provide resuscitation end-points in the treatment of critically ill patients?

With these questions in mind, we are now organising The Second International Symposium on Microcirculation and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Intensive Care Medicine, on Saturday, 24 September 2005, Okura Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. International opinion leaders in the field will present the latest insights in this rapidly developing new area of intensive care medicine. There will be poster presentations and an industrial exhibit. Again, the symposium is endorsed by both the European and the Dutch Society of Intensive Care Medicine and will be held as an official sattellite symposium one day prior to the start of the 18th Annual Congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine also held in Amsterdam.

We hope you will be able to join us!