Petra Hartmann  © ECCO

One of the main goals of ECCO is to promote IBD research as well as to foster interaction and productive collaboration among European research groups working in the IBD field. To achieve this goal, ECCO continues to award Grants, Fellowships and Travel Awards. ECCO offers IBD Nurses across Europe the opportunity to apply for the N-ECCO Travel Award and the N-ECCO Research Grant.

Pascal Juillerat  © ECCO

Dear ECCO Members,

I hope you and your families are well and you are looking forward to spending the Christmas holidays together, as far as this is possible.

In case you missed or would like to re-watch some of the content from the ECCO’21 Virtual Congress that took place last summer – we kindly ask you to visit our e-Library, where all of the recordings can be found.

Naila Arebi  © ECCO

The level of confidence in evidence generated by research is reflected in various aspects of study design and underpins clinical guidelines in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The quality of research study designs, each with inherent strengths and limitations, determines confidence in the results, and it is acknowledged that some ‘robust’ study designs may not be feasible in specific contexts [1, 2]. Experimental designs such as randomised controlled studies that are characterised by methodological rigour, may be unsuitable to study effectiveness owing to their weak external validity, which is attributable to their strict eligibility criteria. Reliance on complementary or alternative evidence from other study designs to address residual gaps in knowledge is not uncommon. Non-experimental observational study designs capture a more diverse population, albeit in a less stringent setting, resulting in several methodological limitations, including high risk of bias and unbalanced confounders [2]. The increasing digitalisation of medicine, in addition to accessible diverse sources of data, is partly responsible for recent intensification of interest in evidence generated by analysing data from observational studies with the purpose of offering new insights into the effectiveness and safety of interventions as well as understanding healthcare delivery and quality of care. The systematic analysis of data from multiple data sources outside a research setting is referred to as real-world studies (RWS), and its subsequent analysis and conclusions as real-world evidence (RWE) [3].

Michel Adamina © ECCO

Surgery is based on several principles that hold true across specialties and time trends: knowledge of the disease at hand and the surgical anatomy; understanding of the patient’s needs and values; interpersonal and communication skills; professionalism and practice-based learning in the decision to perform and the execution of a surgical procedure; and broad competencies in postoperative care and follow-up, in particular when treating patients with chronic diseases. Science, on the other hand, is led by curiosity and honesty with the desire to build knowledge and understanding of our world. In a world with limited resources and with care practice increasingly focusing on the individual needs of patients, tailored treatment is increasingly sought after. Hence, fostering excellent science in IBD surgery may translate into a quest for value-based, innovative ways of approaching disease states for which many possible treatment options exist.

The Educational Programme of the 17^th Congress of ECCO starts prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and courses take place from February 16-18, 2022. These activities target ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists, IBD Nurses, dietitians, allied health professionals and scientists.

An overview of these activities can be found below. Please note that courses/workshops may run concurrently. As these educational activities have a limited capacity, we encourage you to register at your earliest convenience.

The Scientific Programme of the 17^th Congress of ECCO provides attendees the unique opportunity to learn from the world’s leading specialists in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Held from Thursday to Saturday, February 17-19, 2022, the Scientific Programme is structured around basic science, translational medicine and clinical sessions. Additionally, it includes oral presentations of the 40 best abstracts of the Congress. The focus of all sessions is clinical practice founded on science with practical take home messages and, as every year, the congress registration fee includes access to all scientific sessions.

The Scientific Programme will be live transmitted at the time mentioned in the programme (CET). On-demand videos will be available to registered delegates until May 31, 2022.

ECCO’22 Theme: Navigating the oceans of IBD

We look forward to welcoming you at the 17^th Congress of ECCO in Vienna!

Ignacio Catalán-Serra © Ignacio Catalán-Serra

Nuha Yassin  © ECCO

Dear ECCO Family and Friends,

Welcome to our Winter edition of ECCO News. Following the very successful ECCO Virtual Congress this summer, most of us have been working hard to prepare for the 17th ECCO Congress in February 2022. We hope that this will be a face-to-face Congress in Vienna, the home of ECCO. Looking at the current projections for Covid-19 over the next few months, we certainly remain hopeful that vaccinations and wearing PPE over the winter period will allow us to meet each other in order to share IBD knowledge and allow hearts and minds to interact in the New Year.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO Family,

As you know, we are aiming that the ECCO Congress will be a physical one and that it will take place on February 16–19, 2022 in Vienna. This will be the first physical international IBD conference since ECCO 2020! We felt that we could not take the risk of losing the ECCO Spirit. ECCO is in great shape, as you will see in this issue of ECCO News.

© Nestlé Health Science

Introduction

Franck Carbonnel - University Hospital of Kremlin Bicȇtre, France

There is an established association between a Western diet and the risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, including Crohn’s Disease (CD). Enteral nutrition has often been used to treat CD in children and adults. What evidence is there that a controlled diet can help to improve outcomes for CD patients?

© Amgen

This engaging symposium, sponsored by Amgen, took place on July 8, 2021 as part of ECCO’21, and focussed on the role that artificial intelligence (AI) may play in the future management of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The symposium was well received and was viewed by over 400 delegates. First, Professor Gionata Fiorino highlighted the importance of early intervention in IBD and how AI approaches might be used to aid early diagnosis. Professor Edouard Louis subsequently discussed the future role that AI may play in the IBD treatment pathway, using examples from other therapy areas. Finally, Professor Walter Reinisch considered how personalised medicine approaches may transform the management of IBD in the future.

Serbia

Name of group: Serbian IBD Association - SIBDA 

Number of active members: 250
Number of meetings per year: 
Steering Committee meetings: 6 per year, 1 General Assembly per year
Educational meetings: 2 meetings/workshops annually
Patient relations meetings: 1 per year and on demand
President and Secretary: 
Aleksandra Sokic Milutinovic, President
Zoran Milenkovic, Secretary
National Representatives: Srdjan Djuranovic and Mirjana Cvetkovic
Joined ECCO in:  As an association in 2012; we have had National Representatives since the foundation of ECCO
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
Not available at this time.