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”. 

Michel Adamina © ECCO

The 12th European Colorectal Congress takes place from Monday, December 3 to Thursday, December 6, 2018 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and will be preceded by the Colorectal Masterclass on Sunday, December 2. About 1,400 participants from 80 countries are expected to attend the St. Gallen Colorectal Week (www.colorectalsurgery.eu). 

Catherine Wall  © ECCO

Nutrition screening tools are commonly used in clinical practice to identify patients who may be at nutrition risk. Patients identified as being at nutrition risk should be referred for nutritional assessment prior to implementation of a food and nutrition intervention as required. The use of nutrition screening tools can identify those patients most likely to benefit from a dietitian's input and can assist with the allocation of scarce dietetic resources. 

Petra Hartmann © ECCO

Once again, N-ECCO is offering an outstanding range of clinical and educational opportunities for nurses attending the ECCO’19 Copenhagen Congress.

The programmes for each activity continue to be developed on the basis of the evaluation forms from the previous year in order to meet your needs.

Tim Raine © ECCO

The upcoming ECCO Congress will see a new addition to the line-up of workshops offered. Under the supervision of the Guidelines Committee (GuiCom), we are running a workshop specifically designed to offer ECCO Members the opportunity to increase their awareness and knowledge of the GRADE clinical guideline development methodology.

Giovanni Maconi © ECCO

Modern diagnostic imaging is no longer being employed purely in a diagnostic role in IBD, in order to confirm or exclude the disease and its complications; rather, it is now becoming a crucial aid in the management of patients, in particular for the tailoring and monitoring of therapy. Thus, alongside diagnostic indications ranging from early diagnosis to the detection of abdominal complications, imaging techniques are increasingly being used for the assessment and prediction of many other factors, including evaluation of response to treatment both early after its introduction (as part of the step-up approach to treatment) and in the long term (to assist in decision making with respect to exit strategies, e.g. by helping to determine the right time to suspend a biological therapy in patients successfully treated over a long period).

Giovanni Maconi  © ECCO

Marietta Iacucci  © ECCO

In 2019 the Educational Programme at the ECCO Congress will again include two workshops devoted to IBD imaging. The first will be centered on basic endoscopy, ultrasound and MRI while the second will focus on advancements in intestinal ultrasound. Both workshops will be possible thanks to the extensive cooperation of gastroenterologists with experience in intestinal imaging from ECCO and our partner societies.

The 1^st ECCO-ESGAR Basic Imaging Workshop will educate attendees in how to make a precise diagnosis and how to better direct the therapeutic management of IBD patients using the latest imaging technologies. It is designed for gastroenterologists, endoscopists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists and other interdisciplinary medical experts interested in diagnostic imaging and endoscopy of Inflammatory Bowel Disease(s) (IBD).

Marieke Pierik © ECCO

The Epidemiological Committee of ECCO (EpiCom) works for the optimisation of epidemiological research in the field of IBD across Europe. Epidemiology focusses on the factors that influence health, the control and long-term outcome of diseases and the measurement of health outcomes. Epidemiology is data driven and to avoid bias and guarantee validity, systematic data collection, meticulous study design and careful selection of the population and method of analysis are crucial.

An interview with María Chaparro

Javier P. Gisbert: Investigator-initiated studies (IIS) are clinical studies initiated and managed by non-pharmaceutical company researchers, including individual investigators, institutions, collaborative study groups and cooperative groups. The researcher is responsible for the legal and regulatory responsibilities of the trial sponsor for the conduct and management of the study as defined by all applicable laws and regulations. Your group at La Princesa Hospital (Madrid, Spain) has remarkable experience in this type of study. What attracts you most to such studies?