28th Belgian Congress of Rheumatology

The Royal Belgian Society of Rheumatology takes great pleasure in announcing the 28th Belgian Congress of Rheumatology, taking place in Namur on 18 – 20 September 2024. 

This year’s congress will take place at Namur Expo.

BCR2024-option 3 (1)

Programme

Wednesday 18 September
Thursday 19 September
Friday 20 September

10.00

Young Investigators’ Meeting

10.00

Selected Abstract Presentations

12.00

Welcome Lunch

12.45

Opening Ceremony

11.00

SESSION 1: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Chairs: Patrick Durez (UCL) & Patrick Verschueren (KUL)

13.00

Update in Therapeutics 1 – Organised with an educational grant from Alfasigma

Managing initial TNFi failure in RA patients: how to PROceed
James Galloway, King’s College London, UK

13.30

Selected Abstract Presentations

14.00

Equity in rheumatology healthcare (Ethics and Economy)
Annelies Boonen, MUMC, Maastricht, The Netherlands

14.30

Coffee Break

11.00

SESSION 2: Osteoarthritis

Chair: Mieke Devinck (AZ Sint-Lucas Brugge) & Xavier Theunssens (GHDC Grand Hôpital de Charleroi)

15.00

Bone & Joint Lecture

Osteoarthritis: Recent insights and a perspective on the future
Rik Lories (KUL)

15.30

Debate: Does OA benefit from a local or a systemic treatment approach?
Rik Lories (KUL) & Margreet Kloppenburg, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands

16.15

Selected Abstract Presentations

16.45

Coffee Break

11.00

SESSION 3: Ethics and Economy

Chairs: Stéphanie Dierckx (UCL Namur) & Charlotte Baert (UCL Namur)

17.30

Challenges ahead in outpatient medicine in Belgium: A point of view from VBS-GBS
Stan Politis, President VBS-GBS

18.00

Reforming the nomenclature: State of play and impact for rheumatologists
Jo De Cock, former CEO of RIZIV/INAMI and former chair of commission medical doctors and health insurance funds

18.30

Update from BRV-AMRB
Philip Remans, President BRV-AMRB

18.45

Update from ReumaNet/CLAIR and BeHPR
Veerle De Pourcq (ReumaNet)
Véronique Frennet (CLAIR)
Thanny Bries (BeHPR)

19.00

AI innovations in Rheumatology: Applications of Large Language Models
Marie Binvignat, Sorbonne University, Paris, France

19.30

Walking Dinner

11.00

SESSION 4: CTD-ILD

Moderator: Ellen De Langhe (KUL)

08.30

Selected Abstract Presentations

09.00

Update in Therapeutics – Organised with an educational grant from Pfizer

Lungs on Fire: A case-based multidisciplinary discussion (part 1): How to diagnose and monitor?
Yves Piette (UGent, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge – Oostende) & Johny Verschakelen (KUL)

09.30

Update in Therapeutics – Organised with an educational grant from Boehringer-Ingelheim

Lungs on Fire: A case-based multidisciplinary discussion (part 2): How to treat?
Vanessa Smith (UGent), Antoine Froidure (UCL) & Wim Wuyts (KUL)

10.10

Sharing of the QR code to vote for KBVR/SRBR board members

10.15

Coffee Break

11.00

SESSION 5: Systemic diseases

Chairs: Jan Lenaerts (Reumainstituut Hasselt, UZ leuven) & Christian Von Frenckell (CHU de Liège)

10.45

11.15

The moving field of SLE: The perspective of a lupologist
Frédéric Houssiau (UCL)


CAR-T cells, a new horizon for autoimmunity?
Georg Schett, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

11.45

Update in Therapeutics – Organised with an educational grant from AbbVie

How cytokine networks fuel inflammation: Towards a cytokine-based taxonomy Ten years later: A perspective on the future of IMIDS?
Georg Schett, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

12.15

General Assembly

12.45

Lunch Break

13.45

Poster Viewing

14.15

FWRO Award Ceremony

René Westhovens (KUL)

11.00

SESSION 6: Spondyloarthritis

Chairs: Barbara Neerinckx (KUL) & Kathleen De Knop (GZA)

15.15

Update in Therapeutics – Organised with an educational grant from Lilly

Swift resolution of inflammation: The holy grail?
Filip Van den Bosch (UGent)

15.45

Clinical assessment of hypermobility disorders
Marijn Vis, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

16.15

Coffee break

11.00

SESSION 7: Bone and Joint Health

Chairs: Kurt de Vlam (KUL) & Olivier Malaise (CHU de Liège)

16.45

How to tackle rebound in osteoporosis
Serge Ferrari, University of Geneva, Switzerland

17.15

Update in Therapeutics – Organised with an educational grant from Amgen

The link between inflammatory disorders and coronary heart disease: Where cardiology and rheumatology meet – A perspective on the future
Nehal N. Mehta, The George Washington University, Washington, USA

17.45

Selected Abstract Presentations

18.15

Adjourn

11.00

WORKSHOPS

09.00 – 09.45

Workshop 1 – Organised with an educational grant from Lilly

Challenging PsO cases: Clinical myths and pearls workshop
Peter van de Kerkhof, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

09.00 – 09.45

Workshop 2 – Organised with an educational grant from Abbvie

Challenging imaging cases in PsA : Tips, tricks and pitfalls
Lennart Jans (UGent)

09.00 – 09.45

Workshop 3 – Organised with an educational grant from Alfasigma

Challenging RA cases: Interactive case discussions
Peggy Jacques (UGent)

09.00 – 09.45

Workshop 4 – Organised with an educational grant from Amgen

Challenging osteoporosis cases: Beyond postmenopausal osteoporosis: Meet the expert
Serge Ferrari, University of Geneve, Switzerland

09.45 – 10.00

Transfer time

10.00 – 10.45

Workshop 1 – Organised with an educational grant from Lilly

Challenging PsO cases: Clinical myths and pearls workshop
Peter van de Kerkhof, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

10.00 – 10.45

Workshop 2 – Organised with an educational grant from Abbvie

Challenging imaging cases
Lennart Jans (UGent)

10.00 – 10.45

Workshop 3 – Organised with an educational grant from Alfasigma

Challenging RA cases: Interactive case discussions
Peggy Jacques (UGent)

10.00 – 10.45

Workshop 4 – Organised with an educational grant from Amgen

Challenging osteoporosis cases: Beyond postmenopausal osteoporosis: Meet the expert
Serge Ferrari, University of Geneve, Switzerland

10.45

Coffee Break

11.00

SESSION 8: Closing Session: The past, present and future of Belgian rheumatology

Chairs: Jan Lenaerts (Reumainstituut Hasselt, UZ Leuven) & Laurent Méric de Bellefon (CNDG, CHU Saint Pierre, UCL)

11.15

New kids on the block in the treatment of ANCA vasculitis
Frédéric Vandergheynst (ULB)

11.45

Year in Review
Olivier Malaise (CHU de Liège)

12.15

Thieves’ Market: Best Clinical Case Contest – Young (future) Rheumatologists

12.45

Voting & Thieves’ Market Award Presentation

13.00

Closure of the Congress

13.15

Farewell Lunch

Hotel Accommodation

A number of hotel rooms have been booked at special group rates.
These rates only apply for reservations made through Medicongress.

You can reserve your hotel room through the online registration form.

Any requests for hotel accommodation must be accompanied by a valid credit card number, in order to secure the room. Participants will have to pay their room and personal expenses at the reception of the hotel.

In case of late cancellation or no show, the room will be charged on the credit card.

HotelRegistration FeesCancellation Policy
Hotel IBIS Namur Centre***
Single Room: € 105,00/night
Double Room: € 121,00/night

WiFi & Breakfast are included.
City Tax: € 1,25/person/night
Free cancellation untill 1 month before the day of arrival.

Late cancellation or no show: 100% will be charged.

Partners

Platinum Partners

Gold Partners

Silver Partners

Registration

Registration FeesEARLY
(until 31 Aug)
LATE
(as of 1 Sept)
Member KBVR-SRBR€ 300,00€ 400,00
Non-Member€ 400,00€ 500,00
Trainee in Rheumatology*€ 50,00€ 75,00
Other Trainee*€ 75,00€ 100,00
Research non-MD*€ 50,00€ 75,00
Emeritus€ 50,00€ 75,00
Congress Dinner€ 75,00€ 75,00
Healthcare Professionals' Meeting on Thursday (19 Sept)FREEFREE

* Registration as a trainee or researcher will only be accepted if accompanied by a copy of your student card or a certificate of your director (proof to be uploaded during the registration process). Without proof the non-member fee will be charged.

The registration fee for BCR participants includes:

  • Participation in all scientific sessions
  • Participation in the ‘Updates in Therapeutics’ organised by the Industry
  • Participation in the Workshops on Friday morning
  • Programme and Abstracts
  • Access to the exhibition (MDs only)
  • Lunches and coffee breaks
  • Walking Dinner on Wednesday

The free registration for Healthcare Professionals in the BeHPR meeting on Thursday includes

  • Participation in all scientific sessions on Thursday 19 September
  • Lunch and coffee breaks on Thursday 19 September

Confirmation

When your registration is completed successfully, you will receive an automatic confirmation. You can also print an invoice when you finalise your online registration.

Payment

All payments are to be made in EURO, net of all bank charges and commissionf for the receiver.
Payment is to be made by:

  • Credit Card: Only VISA & MasterCard are accepted
  • Bank Wire

Changes/Name Substitutions

You will receive a personal link in your final confirmation email. With this link it will be possible to make changes or transfer your registration to a colleague free of charge.

Cancellations

Participants canceling their registration before 1 September 2024, will receive a full refund, less administration costs (€ 50 for members and non-members and € 25 for trainees, researchers and emeriti). There will be no refunds for cancellations received after this date. Cancellations must be confirmed in writing to the Organising Secretariat. All refunds will be processed after the Congress.

Accreditation

Belgian accreditation will be requested.

Our terms and conditions

These terms and conditions apply to all payments/registrations made to Medicongress Services. By using the online payment facility on this website you implicitly accept these general terms and conditions.

By entering your credit card information:

You state that you are an authorized user of the credit card and that the associated information entered is accurate. You authorize Medicongress Services to charge the booked amount to your credit card.

Declined/ Refused payments:

We cannot accept liability if the payment is refused or declined by the credit/ debit card supplier (due to the customer quoting incorrect card details or other reasons).

Liability and Insurance

In registering for the 28th Belgian Congress on Rheumatology, participants agree that neither BCR 2024 nor the Organizing Secretariat assume any liability whatsoever. Participants should therefore organize their own health, travel and personal insurances.

Privacy Policy

MediCongress is committed to protecting your personal data. The privacy notice on our website outlines how we collect, share and use your personal data, and how you can exercise your privacy rights involving your data.

Call for abstracts

Deadline prolonged until 1 June

Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their abstract by email by 25 June 2024.

Authors can submit their abstracts for oral or poster presentation. It is to be noted that the Scientific Committee will select a limited number of abstracts for oral presentation in the Young Investigators’ Meeting, the abstract sessions and the Thieves Market (send us your most remarkable clinical cases!). The other abstracts will be accepted for poster presentation, after peer review (see scoring and evaluation guidelines below).

The three most challenging clinical cases submitted for the Thieves Market will be selected by the scientific committee for an oral presentation. This year, a 750 € prize will be awarded to the young clinician who presents the best of these three selected clinical cases. Only trainees or rheumatologists within maximum 3 years of board certification can apply.

Encore abstracts are accepted.

Download the abstract template here.

Submission Guidelines

You can submit several abstracts at the same time and add abstracts later on:

  • Click on the link below to start and create a profile.
  • Fill out your personal details and go through the submission procedure.

Your abstract(s) is/are only uploaded successfully when you receive an automatic reply confirming your submission(s).

IMPORTANT: The uploaded Word file(s) must contain title, authors & affiliations and the actual abstract.

Click here for step by step guidance through the online submission procedure.

Instructions for Authors

  • Abstracts must be written in English not exceeding 450 words (including title, authors, affiliations), and must be submitted as a Word file (xxx.doc) via the online submission form.
  • Use font Arial 10 characters per inch (font size 10).
  • Use single spacing and type the text unjustified without hyphenating words at line breaks. Use hard returns only to end headings and paragraphs, not to rearrange lines
  • Type title in sentence case in bold with no full stop at the end
  • Type family name first followed by the initials of the first name of the authors (Rubens P.P., Van Eyck J. etc.)
  • Type affiliation underneath the authors: Department, Institution, City, Country (do not mention street addresses, PO boxes or zip codes). When there are multiple affiliations number them as follows and use the semi-colon between the multiple affiliations:
    • 1Dept. A, Hospital A, City, Country; 2Dept. B,
      Hospital B, City, Country etc.
  • Organise the abstract in sections as follows:
  • Background/Purpose
    Background or statement of purpose
  • Methods
    Methods, materials, and analytical procedure used
  • Results
    Summary of the results in sufficient detail to support conclusion
  • Conclusion
    Conclusions reached
  • Paragraph headings should by typed in bold with no colon at the end. Do not use the heading ‘Abstract’. Each heading should be in a separate paragraph.
  • Max 2 figures or tables are allowed.
  • The use of References must be limited to max 3. When you list references, use superscript numbers in both the text and the reference list. Use Arial font size 8 for references

Scoring and evaluation Guidelines

  • Abstracts will be scored in a non-blinded manner
  • Abstract with scores < 5 will not be accepted to the conference.
  • 2 abstract subtypes 1. Original research, 2. Clinical cases.
  • The submitting author is asked to indicate whether/not he/she prefers to present at the Young Investigator Meeting Y/N or the Thieves Market (if eligible).
  • Guidelines for scoring
    10 = outstanding (oral)
    9 = excellent (oral)
    8 = very good (oral/poster)
    7 = good (oral/poster)
    6 = good (poster)
    5 = fair (poster)
    4 = insufficient (reject)
    3 = poor (reject)
    2 = very poor (reject)
    1= very poor (reject)
  • Clinical cases: Case reports and the efforts of young colleagues when presenting interesting cases is to be encouraged (as an overarching principle). Applications for the Thieves’ Market must be done as part of the submission process. Only trainees and rheumatologists within 3 years of board certification can apply.
  • For all abstracts: Scoring instructions: please add ‘Suggested for oral presentation Y/N