Dear Colleagues,
By the time you read this it will all be history. A major meeting has been born, evolving out of the good work and dedication of all who believe that advancing our profession, and improving care, is also done through a certain quality of education, as well as a dedication to the highest levels of communication.
World medical culture
Sometimes this kind of evolution, though momentous, can occur by the slightest of gestures. In simply dropping the word EURO, and replacing it with ASIA. AsiaPCR/SingLIVE became a reality, a meeting onto its own. The vast majority of the speakers came from Asia itself, and the educational content was further enhanced through the technical resources, expertise and vast experience of the PCR family.
In an era of globalisation, it is clear that EuroPCR –which itself was the result of a merging between EuroCVS (Rotterdam) and PCR (Toulouse/Paris)– must now continue along this path of collaboration. Over the last 30 years I have learned a lot from my Asian-Pacific colleagues, as I travelled throughout the region or when they came to our institution here in Europe, or to one of our meetings, such as EuroPCR. To build on our relations with Asia, to create a forum which provides access to clinicians who have neither the time nor finances to attend EuroPCR in person, is both essential and prudent. It is, and will be in the future, an opportunity to see our old friends, while revelling in our younger colleagues who have not yet made their mark on our European and international practice.
AsiaPCR/SingLIVE touched on topics that we often discuss here in Europe, but from the perspective and experience of our Asian Pacific colleagues, something that always illuminates these topics
in a different way. Discussions included those on intravascular imaging techniques such as OCT, profound and continuing interchange on long-term follow-up of recent trials comparing bypass surgery to PCI (with a special interest in left main disease), demonstrations of the treatment of the complex field of bifurcations and CTOs, long an area of great expertise here.
It is interesting to note that culturally, Asians have great respect for their own body –often we see that sometimes as high as a tenfold of the population choose bypass surgery over PCI– which shows a distaste for foreign bodies. This cultural difference could favour bioabsorbable technology and see it quickly embraced in the Asian Pacific region. In terms of medical treatment, drug response might be impacted genetically, rendering some more susceptible/ responsive to calcium antagonists, IIB/IIIA blockers. And finally, in a society with less of a bureaucratic and socialistic approach, hard work and long hours is more the norm than the exception. This international exchange has much to offer both East and West, and I for one, came away from AsiaPCR/SingLIVE looking forward to the next one!
Fast-food mentality
One of our most prominent authors and contributors recently wrote to us, and I would like to share his thoughts with you. “I see that the task of obtaining a review has becomes a nightmare”, he observed, “apart from the delay that it causes in the mechanisms of publishing new information, it strongly suggests that reviewing has become ‘a pain in the ...’ for many. This, in turn, seriously questions the seriousness of the review process. Finally, it has consequences on the quality of the papers themselves. We, as authors, feel reviewers will have little time to do their job, and realise that our message should be as short, and as simple and consensual (i.e., as stupid), as possible. Alluding to those concepts which do not ‘go with the flow’ has become impossible. Just like in gastronomy with fast-food restaurants, scientific journals have entered an era of ‘fast-publication’.”
While there is much truth in this assessment, myself, the Board of EuroIntervention and our editorial staff devote a considerable amount of effort to ensure the quality – and efficiency – of the reviewing process is respected. Still, despite our efforts, it remains ‘hit or miss’ with our reviewers: sometimes, with luck, a reviewer will accept an invitation and review within the deadline, but, often –at the other extreme– we are forced to go on an embarrassing ‘reviewer hunt’, where we chase after reviewers who agreed, and yet never respond. Recently, we experienced a particularly painful case where only after we had sent out nine invitations did we finally receive the reviews to complete the process. We work, as well, with Euro Heart, and though not as prevalent or extreme as it is for us, this problem exists for them as well; especially when you consider that Euro Heart’s editor, Thomas Lüscher, is trying to reach an average 14 day turn around... a difficult challenge.
The curious thing about this is that for EuroIntervention, as for many other journals, it’s a catch-22 scenario. Authors will only submit to us if their own papers are quickly reviewed, but we also rely on many of the same authors to help us with a prompt review. As the big push for a respectable ‘impact factor’ has begun in earnest, we recognise that the review process has to be speeded up in order to encourage authors of major papers to submit here. This has led us, in conjunction with the EAPCI, to invite new potential (young) reviewers who are eager –and above all reliable– to join us in providing serious reviews. The EAPCI has recently announced this call for new reviewers for EuroIntervention in one of their last newsletters. Together, we truly hope to achieve more... and efficiently too!
Our latest
We were very pleased at the reaction to our last issue, where we focussed a portion of EuroIntervention to a single topic. This “mini” series dedicated to valve papers, contained five articles, including three considering the question of vascular complications after valve implantation and another concerning a First-in-Man experience from Phillip Bonhoeffer’s group on a new pulmonary valve. Following in these footsteps, this current edition of EuroIntervention contains, not one, but two “special” series that will help you explore specific questions in a little more depth than reading a single solitary article might provide. In the following pages, we invite you to join us in exploring first, gender issues, and second, bifurcations.
Gender based issues in interventional cardiology have proven elusive, and we approach them from several viewpoints in the upcoming pages. We begin with a joint publication with the American journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions (CCI) and the Spanish Journal Revista Española de Cardiología, entitled “Gender-based issues in interventional cardiology: a consensus statement from the Women In Innovations (WIN) initiative”. Two other articles continue to touch on this essential, and fascinating subject.
The 5th annual meeting of the European Bifurcation Club, the EBC, took place last October in Berlin. To underline the vivacity and significance this organisation plays, we feature four articles in this edition of EuroIntervention examining new proposed techniques in this complex area. Europe is well represented, with papers originating from Spain, Italy, France and Turkey.
This issue, like the other before, has been constructed with the greatest attention to content and details. Our reviewing process might still be long, but our increasing presence, from these pages and now throughout the world to Asia and back, is witness to what we are committed to doing. Please join us...
