This month’s TopMedTalk Classic is particularly topical: first broadcast back in 2018 but relevant once again after the recent news of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Originally recorded at the Intensive Care Society State of the Art Meeting in London, Desiree Chappell and Monty Mythen speak with Dan Martin, OBE, now Professor at the University of Plymouth and Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, about the critical care management of Ebola and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Dan Martin describes the Royal Free Hospital’s role as the UK designated centre, using a Trexler isolator system to protect staff (rather than full PPE) and rehearsed RAF-supported repatriation and hospital drills, including simulations for intubation, lines and CPR.

He explains that Ebola is not inevitably fatal and that outcomes improve with safe, good basic intensive care—fluids, electrolytes and preventing secondary infection—while evidence for expensive experimental therapies is limited. The discussion also covers screening based on travel history, UK planning for “high consequence infectious diseases,” and international training visits.

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The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society.

Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine.

This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery.

Go now to http://www.ebpom.org