Simona Radice © ECCO

Adriana Rivera Sequeiros © ECCO

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to ECCO 2025, the 20th Congress of ECCO, which will be held in Berlin. As you know, in 2024 the REACH strategy was successfully introduced with the objective of focusing on a single letter each year. In 2025, the focus will be on the letter ‘A’, which corresponds to the objective of Attaining Sustainable IBD Care.

Mariangela Allocca © ECCO

Uri Kopylov © ECCO

At the 2025 ECCO Congress, the educational programme will again include two workshops dedicated to the imaging of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These workshops, organised in collaboration with the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) and the International Bowel Ultrasound (IBUS) group, aim to educate medical professionals in imaging techniques and their use in the accurate diagnosis and treatment monitoring of IBD patients.

The first workshop will focus on the fundamentals of endoscopy, intestinal ultrasound (IUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while the second will explore recent advances in IUS. These educational opportunities are made possible by the significant collaboration between ECCO and experienced gastroenterologists and radiologists specialising in intestinal imaging.

Natalia Queiroz © ECCO

The 23rd ECCO IBD Intensive Course for Trainees, Berlin 2025

The 23^rd IBD Intensive Course for Trainees is scheduled for February 19, 2025, immediately before the start of the ECCO Congress in Berlin. This respected ECCO Educational Initiative has been a cornerstone of IBD education since its inception in 2003, predating even the ECCO Congress itself.

The course is designed to bridge the gaps often found in IBD education during gastroenterology fellowships. It offers advanced fellows a thorough and multidisciplinary exploration of IBD, helping them to deepen their expertise. Additionally, it serves as a vital platform for young clinicians from around the world to exchange knowledge, compare medical practices and build professional networks that can lead to future collaborations. Participation is by invitation, with nominations made by ECCO National Representatives.

Glen Doherty © ECCO

This summer saw the arrival of an additional novel way to participate in ECCO Education, the “Fast Facts in IBD 2024” Online Course. This live interactive online course took place on June 12, 2024 from 17:00 to 19:00 CEST. The course content was specially designed by EduCom for all gastroenterologists treating patients with IBD in their practice and was delivered in a format suited to virtual learning. 98 participants registered for this event (which was free of charge to all current ECCO Members).

The incidence and prevalence of IBD varies throughout the world, with the highest incidence seen in industrialised regions of North America and Europe [1]. Within Europe an East–West gradient has been demonstrated, with Western centres showing almost twice the incidence observed in Eastern centres [2].

The general trend in migration is from lower and middle income countries to higher income countries in Western Europe and North America.

David Drobne © ECCO

Julien Kirchgesner © ECCO

IBD manifests with numerous faces. It became clear some time ago that only by joining forces across multiple countries would we perhaps be able to identify and study rare manifestations of IBD and its complications. This was the reason why the CONFER taskforce (COllaborative Network For Exceptionally Rare case reports) was initiated under the auspices of the ClinCom committee.

Nick Powell © ECCO

ECCO is proud of its continuing commitment to support innovative IBD research through its Fellowships, Grants and Travel Awards, including our flagship Pioneer Awards. Our grant programme now extends beyond the borders of Europe with the emergence of our new Global Grant supporting IBD research for low and lower-middle income countries. All of these research efforts continue to improve our understanding of IBD and change outcomes for our patients. None of this would be possible without our community of grant reviewers who provide an invaluable scientific service to the ECCO Family and the broader field of IBD. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our growing reviewer network of more than 500 experts, who have reviewed over 750 applications.

In this issue of the ECCO Newsletter we really wanted to highlight two “super reviewers”, Amy Lightner and Hannah Gordon, who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and delivered the highest overall number of reviews. Thank you both! To better understand the peer review process, what motivates reviewers and why potential reviewers in the ECCO Community might want to get involved in the process, I caught up with Amy and Hannah.       

The Educational Programme of the 20^th Congress of ECCO starts prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and courses take place from February 19-21, 2025. These activities target ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists, IBD Nurses, dietitians, allied health professionals and scientists.

Britta Siegmund © ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

It was truly a pleasure to meet so many of you at UEG Week in Vienna, and now the excitement is building as we prepare for the next ECCO Congress 2025 in Berlin!

In June, EduCom introduced a new format to bridge the summer gap: the “Fast Facts in IBD – the new Online ECCO Postgraduate Course in IBD,” which took place on June 12. This was a free, interactive course available to all current ECCO members, and Glen Doherty provides more insights into this fantastic new offering in this issue.

Goedele Dewitte © Goedele Dewitte

Is there any specific training for IBD Nursing in your country?

Until this year, there was no specific training. Every IBD Nurse learned ‘on the job’, with some having the opportunity to do an observership with another IBD Nurse.

In collaboration with the Belgium IBD Nursing Association (BINAstoria), and together with rheumatology and dermatology nurses, we’ve now established a formal IMID (immune-mediated inflammatory disease) postgraduate training programme to support our profession. This postgraduate training will start in October 2024.

Is there any IBD Nurse Network in your country?

Yes, we have BINAstoria, which was set up by all the IBD study coordinators, who came together to share experiences. All IBD Nurses can be members, but so can IBD study coordinators and study nurses, IBD dietitians and IBD psychologists. The last two professions are very new and not well represented in Belgium yet.