Pieter Hindryckx © ECCO

For the 14^th edition of the ECCO Congress we return to the venue of the 2014 Congress: the Bella Center in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The central theme of the 2019 Congress is “Research drives clinical care”, reflecting a well-balanced cocktail comprising the latest advances in basic and clinical research in IBD and their (potential) implications for daily clinical practice.  

Silvio Danese © ECCO

Dear ECCO friends,

While we wait a few more months for our ECCO Congress 2019 and are getting ready to face another cold winter, I would like to give you an update on the latest ECCO Initiatives for the meeting, which are the result of much hard work by all the ECCO Committees.

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)

At ECCO, we process your data in line with the principles of transparency and fairness. When becoming a member of ECCO, you are asked to provide your contact information, which enables us to correctly identify you in our database. We do not pass on any of your data to external parties, unless this is necessary to ensure the correct processing and safe-keeping of your information. You can find more detailed information in the ECCO Data Privacy Statement.

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.