Reshaping Postpandemic Critical Care Collaboration in the Asia-Pacific Region: Report of the First Asia-Pacific Critical Care Societies Summit

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presented the greatest challenge to modern intensive care medicine since its founding as a specialty in 1952, with its effects felt across health care services in all regions, including low-resourced settings. A paucity of data remains regarding the provision of intensive care medicine across the globe, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine the broad state of critical care medicine after the pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region, the inaugural Asia-Pacific Critical Care Societies Summit was held in Singapore as a satellite meeting of the Asia-Pacific Intensive Care Symposium on August 18, 2023. This article summarizes this summit and provides key health and economic data for representative countries before detailing the resolutions and planned actions arising from this initiative. Fourteen critical care societies participated in the inaugural summit and consented to publication of societal reports. Common challenges and priorities for participating societies included issues around education and training, specialty and workforce advocacy, and collaboration and research. As a result of this summit, societies resolved to establish an Asia-Pacific education forum, to encourage the development of Asia-Pacific critical care trials, and to support engagement in multinational studies. A second Asia-Pacific Critical Care Societies Summit will be convened in 2024, with a focus on safety and quality challenges within ICUs represented by the societies present and discussion of the listed priority areas.