A New Era of Collaboration

Article Outline

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THIS IS THE SECOND time that the pathways of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiologists (EACTA) and the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia (JCVA) are meeting at a crossroad. Actually, the history of these 2 entities followed the same direction, sometimes being parallel and sometimes diverging, while always sharing the same scientific issues.

They were born in the same period, during the mid-1980s of the past century, the EACTA being established in 1986 and the JCVA delivering its first issue in 1987 (as the Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia). At the beginning, cooperation was very close, and the abstracts of the first EACTA meetings were regularly published as a dedicated supplement of the Journal. For the EACTA, a number of chairpersons and presidents have been leading the Association, representing many different European countries; as for JCVA, the founder and editor was (and still is) Joel A. Kaplan, MD. During the 90s and early years of the 20th century, the European soul of EACTA gained importance, in concomitance with the formal process leading to the creation of the political entity represented by the EU. The “reference journals” of the EACTA were European based, general anesthesia journals, publishing the EACTA Annual Meeting abstracts (British Journal of Anaesthesia) and subsequently becoming official EACTA journals (European Journal of Anaesthesia).

Although this experience was deeply satisfying, in recent years, it became more and more evident that the cardiothoracic anesthesia and intensive care environment was increasing its own feeling of identity and dignity as a subspecialty. The EACTA members more than doubled in numbers from 2001 through 2007 (and are presently more than 1,000). Specific techniques belonging to this environment were increasing their role; new monitoring tools were first explored in cardiac anesthesia and then subsequently introduced in other critical areas; transesophageal echocardiography was gaining importance and recognition, and through cooperation with the European Association of Echocardiography, a European Accreditation in transesophageal echocardiography was established in 2005. As a consequence of this process, it became clear, from the input of EACTA members, that the demand was for a subspecialty journal. The possibility of JCVA becoming the official EACTA journal was therefore explored by mutual contacts between the EACTA Directory Board and the JCVA Editorial Board. Finally, at our last Representative Council Meeting in Krakow (June 2007), the decision to switch to JCVA was deliberated, and a large majority supported the new partnership with JCVA.

So, we are now at the beginning of a new era of cooperation, in which EACTA-appointed specialists are joining the Editorial Board of JCVA as Section Editors and Associate Editors. Starting with the first issue of 2008, all the EACTA members in good standing will regularly receive JCVA as a benefit of their association with EACTA, and the annual meeting abstracts will be published in a dedicated supplement of the Journal.

Going back to the past? Probably, it is back to the future. A future in which cardiothoracic anesthesia (regardless of the fact that we spell this concept as “anaesthesia” or “anesthesia”) will proceed with its dignity and identity, sharing the same concepts, problems, and visions with all the professionals involved, in every part of the world.