Maintaining continuity is more important than beginning”

We thank our founding chairman Dr. Mois Bahar for guidance in the preparation of the brief history of our organization and Dr. Gülsen Korfalı for her contributions.
Dr. Haldun Gündoğdu
Chairman of the Executive Committee (2011 – 2013)

THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL AND PARENTERAL NUTRITION

The first clinical nutrition meeting in Turkey was held in Izmir in 20 February 1993 with 150 participants. Later, in 1993 during ESPEN congress in Budapest Mois Bahar, Ali Reşat Moral, Oya Kutlay, Uğur Oral, İskender Sayek, Ali Gören, Agah Çertuğ, Mustafa Tireli, Tansu Salman, Sedat Boyacıoğlu, Haldun Gündoğdu made a joint decision of foundation of a national society of nutrition.

The founding members held the first meeting of KEPAN in 14 April 1994 in Istanbul Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit where the temporary administrative board was unanimously formed. Mois Bahar was elected president, Bora Aykaç general secretary, Ali Reşat Moral, Ali Gören vice-presidents, Ercüment Yentür treasurer, and Oya Kutlay, Mustafa Tireli, and Uğur Oral substitute members. During this meeting the “KEPAN LOGO” prepared by Mois Bahar and the page setting of the application form was accepted and it was decided to begin member registration.

KEPAN - ESPEN relations were officialised in “National Societies Members”
Meeting at the European Organization of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) Congress 1995 in Rome and Turkey began to be represented by a “Council Member” (Mois Bahar) in ESPEN Council meetings. 1st KEPAN Congress was held in that period in 4-6 April 1996 in Izmir with 400 participants.

The first organized TNT course was held in 20-21 February 1998 in Istanbul followed by Izmir in May 1999, İstanbul in 16-17 December 2000, Istanbul in 16-17 March 2001, Adana in 21-22 May 2001, and Izmir in 8-9 June 2001. These courses enabled 200 physicians of different specialties to get “KEPAN TNT” certificate.

The 3rd KEPAN congress was held in 23-26 November 2000 in Istanbul with 680 participants. ESPEN administrative board members attended this congress as speakers and assessed the status of clinical nutrition in Turkey.

KEPAN’s “basic nutritional education” slide set was produced in 2001 and educational activities were continued by using this set.

Thanks to intensive efforts to hold the topic “Nutritional Assessment” in Istanbul, which was devised to be organized for the first time within ESPEN’s "Leonardo da Vinci Life Long Learning" program, this first sample course was organized in 17-18 December 2004 in The Marmara Hotel, Istanbul.

A nation-wide study was planned to assess the nutritional risk in hospitalized patients in Turkey. This study, conducted by Haldun Gündoğdu on behalf of KEPAN, lasted for 6 months between 15 July 2005 and 15 January 2006. Conducted in 34 centers in 19 provinces, the study examined 29139 patients. A mean 15% nutritional risk was detected in hospitalized patients during first admission. This trial was presented at the ESPEN-2006 Congress and published in 2009 at the Clinical Nutrition Journal.

Within the context of the “Nutritional status survey in European hospitals = NutritionDay” organized by ESPEN, KEPAN played an important role in this activity with nearly 1000 patient data collected by arranging the participation of more than 30 centers in Turkey in 2006.

At the 12th anniversary of the KEPAN society, an ESPEN Congress was held in Turkey. Twenty-eighth ESPEN Congress with 2612 participants chaired by Mois Bahar, which was held in 19-22 October 2006 at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center, was completed with full success. In 19th of October 2006, the first day of the congress, 8 courses on different topics were held within the context of the “Leonardo da Vinci Life Long Learning Program”, the novel educational program of ESPEN. By a protocol exclusive for Turkey signed by ESPEN and KEPAN 3 of the modules were translated into Turkish and were done first-time in Istanbul within official program.

"ESPEN Guidelines on adult enteral nutrition" was translated into Turkish and placed at the society’s web site. The basic book "Basics in Clinical Nutrition" was placed at the web site. Six topics, translated into Turkish in the context of Turkish program conducted parallel to the ESPEN-LLL education, were placed at the society’s web site.

At the January 2009 Nutrition Day activity, nutritional survey of 4300 patients from 42 centers were accomplished by a state-of-the-art organization.

The “Teach the Teachers” course was held by ESPEN LLL coordinators (Claude Pichard-LLL President, Remy Meier-LLL Vice-President, Regina Komsa-LLL Vice-President and Alessandro Laviano-Chairman of ESPEN ECPC) at Antalya Congress in 31.03.2011. The first ever TTT course outside ESPEN Congress, this course was attended by 20 Turkish scientists to get certified.

Parenteral Nutrition Guide published by ESPEN in 2009 was translated into Turkish, printed, and delivered at the congress. A commission was established on request of the Ministry of Health to prepare the “Guide to Safe Total Parenteral Nutrition Practice” published by the Ministry of Health General Directorate of Treatment Services in 17.06.2010. A significant progress was made by inclusion of all recommendations in the guide.