Participation of TNMU Professor in the CLIPS Consensus Meeting within the International COST Project
On October 2–3, 2025, Professor Oksana Boyarchuk, Head of the Department of Paediatric Diseases with Paediatric Surgery at Ternopil National Medical University, took part in the CLIPS Consensus Meeting (Conference on Clinical Practice Strategies Consensus), held in Porto, Portugal, as part of the international project COST Action CA21168 “Improving Outcomes in Juvenile Idiopathic Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases through Unified Clinical Practice Strategies.”
The project leader is Prof. Michael Hofer (Switzerland), and the local organizer — Mariana Rodrigues (Portugal).
The project brings together scientists, physicians, and clinicians from more than 30 countries working to develop shared approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of five major groups of paediatric rheumatic diseases:
- systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and adult-onset Still’s disease,
- PFAPA/SURF (periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis/syndrome of undifferentiated recurrent fever),
- management of lupus nephritis in children,
- management of IgA vasculitis and Kawasaki disease in children,
- biological therapy in the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases.
Professor Oksana Boyarchuk is a member of the PFAPA/SURF working group, within which the meeting addressed issues of diagnostic approaches to PFAPA and genetic aspects of the disease.до PFAPA, генетичного тестування, підходів до лікування, зокрема застосування колхіцину та показів до тонзилектомії у цих пацієнтів.
The conference featured presentations from leading experts and young researchers from across Europe, representing different working groups. Panel discussions and working sessions were also held to determine the next steps in developing consensus-based clinical practice strategies tailored to the healthcare systems of various countries.
The international COST project provides an excellent platform for both young scientists and experienced experts. Each year, grants are announced for participation in Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) held in Lausanne, Switzerland. During these missions, young researchers, under the supervision of mentors (field experts), analyse data collected by CLIPS over the previous years of the project.
In addition, monthly online meetings of the working groups are held to discuss recent findings, plan further research, and review clinical cases.
Every year, a Winter School takes place in the Swiss Alps, dedicated to a specific topic of the project. In 2026, the Winter School will focus on vasculitides. Online participation is free of charge. Registration is available at the following link:
🔗 https://www.jircohorte.org/infos-evenement/jir-winter-school-2026-online-ticket
The final project conference within COST Action CA21168 will take place in June 2026 in Istanbul. However, all project participants have agreed to continue their cooperation in addressing key issues in paediatric rheumatology beyond the project’s official timeline.
The participation of a representative from Ternopil National Medical University in this event contributes to strengthening international collaboration, integrating Ukrainian specialists into the European scientific community, and implementing modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of rare paediatric rheumatic diseases in Ukrainian medical practice.