Anastasia N. Nicolaou © Anastasia N. Nicolaou

Cyprus

N-ECCO National Representative: Anastasia N. Nicolaou
Job Title: GI - IBD Nurse

What influenced your decision to apply for the role of N-ECCO National Representative for your country?
I work in a centre which sees a large number of IBD patients and therefore I felt the need to have a more active role. I have also applied for a PhD in a local university which has a research programme on IBD. 

Sweden

Name of group: Swedish Organisation for the Study of IBD
Number of active members: 45
Number of meetings per year: Two main meetings plus numerous project meetings
President and Secretary: 
        Pär Myrelid, President
        Franscesca Bresso, Secretary
National Representatives: 
        Ann-Sofie Backman
        Michael Eberhardson
Joined ECCO in:  2004
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
0.64% prevalence

Serbia

Name of group: Serbian IBD Association - SIBDA
Number of active members: 230
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 from 2012; we have had National Representatives since the beginning of ECCO.
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
Not available in this moment.

Austria

Name of group: Working Party on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Working Party IBD, Arbeitsgruppe CED) of the Austrian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (ÖGGH)
Number of active members: 
        ECCO: 83
        ÖGGH: 1271
Number of meetings per year: Three annual regular meetings; several regional meetings.
President and Secretary: 
        Leader of the Working Party IBD: Christoph Högenauer
        President of ÖGGH: Herbert Tilg
        Secretary of ÖGGH: Harald Hofer
National Representatives: 
        First Austrian National Representative: Christoph Högenauer
        Second Austrian National Representative: Alexander Moschen
Joined ECCO in:  2001
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
Annual incidence of IBD: Crohn’s Disease: 6.7/100,000; Ulcerative Colitis: 4.8/100,000 (Petritsch W et al. J Crohns Colitis 2013;7:58–69)

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Christina Kapizioni  © Christina Kapizioni

Increased risk of acute arterial events in young patients and severely active IBD: A nationwide French cohort study

Kirchgesner J, Beaugerie L, Carrat F, Andersen NN, Jess T, Schwarzinger M; BERENICE study group
Gut. 2018;67:1261–1268.

Dominik Bettenworth © ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

A warm welcome to the Y-ECCO Literature Review section, where you will find a summary and discussion of cutting-edge clinical trials as well as basic science studies in the field of IBD. 

If you are a Y-ECCO Member and you are looking for an opportunity to get actively involved in ECCO and gain some visibility, contribute your article to the Y-ECCO Literature Review corner, together with a short self-description and your picture.

Nuha Yassin © ECCO

“The patient's perspective”

With the Y-ECCO Interview corner, I have had the honour to talk to inspirational people who have been kind enough to share with the ECCO Family and the IBD Community their professional and personal IBD journeys. Taking an IBD MDT approach, I have had the pleasure to speak to surgeons, gastroenterologists, nurses and dietitians from Europe and beyond. 

Today, I have the pleasure to speak to a representative of the most important group within the MDT, the patient. As clinicians, our clinical and research work is patient centred. Therefore, it is natural that the Interview corner should take us to a place we have never been before, the patient’s home. 

Nuha Yassin © ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying your summer break. As we catch the last rays of sunshine, or hide away from the sweltering heat, we think about the next ECCO Congress in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. Abstract submission is now open, and Y-ECCO Members can prepare for writing the best abstracts and sharing their research with the ECCO Community. There will be an opportunity to win one of the five best Y-ECCO Abstract Awards, but you’re only eligible if you indicate that your abstract qualifies for the Y-ECCO Abstract Award. If you’re a Y-ECCO basic scientist, please prepare your abstracts with a general focus on two areas, genetics/epigenetics and metabolomics, and do tick the box if you’d like your abstract to be considered for presentation at the Y-ECCO Basic Science Workshop.

Paula Borralho Nunes © ECCO

A significant number of patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) will require a colectomy [1], with the most frequent indications including medical refractory disease and the occurrence of dysplasia or cancer in cases of longstanding disease. A total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA) has become the surgery of choice for the “definitive” management of UC since it avoids a permanent stoma while removing all diseased colonic mucosa [2], but it is also used for familial adenomatous polyposis and sometimes (advertently or inadvertently) for Crohn’s Disease (CD). However, although this surgery has significantly improved the quality of life of patients with UC, complications such as fistulas, abscesses, strictures of the anastomosis and pouchitis can occur after restorative proctocolectomies. Pouchitis refers to a chronic relapsing inflammatory condition with active inflammation of IPAA mucosa and is considered to be a primary “non-specific, idiopathic inflammation of the neorectal ileal mucosa”.