Naila Arebi © ECCO

An introduction to pharmaco-epidemiology: How to interpret real world data for clinical practice 

The Epidemiological Committee (EpiCom) organised their 4^th workshop at the ECCO’18 Congress in Vienna.  Delegates were welcomed by Ebbe Langholz, who introduced the sessions with a short video on the UR-CARE database to illustrate the importance of databases and their potential across Europe. 

John Mansfield © ECCO

The 6^th ClinCom Workshop focussed on two current themes in IBD research: Evolving endpoints in clinical trials and comparative effectiveness research (CER).

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet (Nancy, France) described the drivers that have led to the move from Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Mayo scores to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that just record clinical symptoms. The ultimate therapeutic goal is not only to reduce symptoms but also to return the patient to a normal life without disability. For Ulcerative Colitis (UC) the PRO uses rectal bleeding and stool frequency scores from the Mayo score, while for Crohn’s Disease (CD) abdominal pain and stool frequency scores are used. Many clinical trials also aim to show resolution of mucosal inflammation so endoscopic scores are frequently being used as co-primary endpoints with symptom scores. Some problems with PROs remain to be settled, especially the cut-off values for active disease, response and remission, and also the variability of patients’ assessment of loose stools and rectal bleeding.

Jihye Park © Jihye Park

Most patients with chronic IBD are diagnosed at a young age. After baseline diagnosis many of these young patients have to undergo repeated imaging procedures during the variable clinical course of their disease. Ultrasound, CT and MRI are used to image transmural alterations and extra-intestinal manifestations of the disease and to monitor response to treatment. 

Janneke van der Woude © ECCO

One of the main goals of ECCO is to promote IBD-related basic and clinical 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.

For 2018 the number of awardees has increased to an amazing total of more than 30.

Shomron Ben-Horin © ECCO

Michael Scharl © ECCO

Fat in IBD – Much more than an innocent bystander 

Within the framework of the 6^th SciCom Workshop, the role of fat and lipids in IBD pathogenesis was highlighted. Six highly interesting talks shed light on the fact that fat is much more than an innocent bystander in IBD.

Another record number of abstracts has been submitted for the 13^th Congress of ECCO. Out of 1,366 submitted scientific abstracts, 1,012 abstracts have been accepted.

Of these abstracts, 38 have been selected as Oral Presentations during the Scientific Programme and another 80 were selected as Digital Oral Presentations. Each of these presentations was reviewed by ECCO Committee Members in order to select the winners of the Top 10 DOPs, IIS Abstract Awards, and the Y-ECCO Abstract Awards.

6,676 delegates attended the 13^th Congress of ECCO in Vienna

The 13th Congress of ECCO – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 2018, which was held on February 14-17, 2018 in Vienna, Austria, attracted a total number of 6,676 delegates from 86 different countries. Since the inaugural ECCO Congress in 2006 in Amsterdam, at which there were 350 delegates, participant numbers have steadily increased, as shown in the graph below:

ECCO Congress participation 2006-2018 © ECCO

Silvio Danese  ©  ECCO

Dear ECCO friends,

Thank you to everyone for once again making the ECCO Congress, Europe’s most important event in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), such a wonderful occasion. Held this year in Vienna, the Congress attracted 6,676 participants from over 80 countries and the number of accepted abstracts surpassed 1,000.  Thank you especially to our invited speakers for delivering such exciting presentations and also to the ECCO Committee Members for their hard work and dedication, which helped to make the Congress so successful. 

Greece

Name of group: Hellenic Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (EOMIFNE)
Number of active members: 191
Number of meetings per year: one (1) annual congress
President: Prof. Ioannis Koutroubakis
Secretary: Dr. Nikos Viazis
National Representatives: Prof. Ioannis Koutroubakis and Prof. Georgios Bamias
Joined ECCO in:  2003
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
The incidence of IBD has been estimated in older studies from Epirus and Crete regions.  For UC the incidence was 5.6/8.9 per 100.000 inhabitants and for Crohn’s disease 2.0/3.0 per 100.000 inhabitants, respectively, placing Greece in the group of countries with low to moderate incidence.  A recent ECCO-EpiCOM study including data from Ioannina showed incidence of UC (in the area of Ioannina for the years 2010/2011) 6.0/3.6 per 100.000 inhabitants and for CD 3.5/3.6 per 100.000 inhabitants.

Switzerland

Name of group: IBDnet (www.ibdnet.ch) The IBDnet is a Swiss interest group of medical doctors and scientists specialising in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The aim is the promotion of research and communication on aetiology, diagnosis and therapy in order to improve patient outcomes.

Number of active members: Switzerland has roughly 475 gastroenterologists and hepatologists, 350 of whom are located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and 125 in the French- and Italian-speaking parts. The IBDnet has 93 members, with a Steering Committee of 17 IBD specialists.

Number of meetings per year:

• Steering Committee Meetings: 4 per year, 1 General Assembly per year
• Educational Meetings: One or two major (2- or 3-day meetings, postgraduate course) and eight to ten minor ones (half-day meetings)
• Expert Meetings: The IBDnet organises one expert meeting per year to develop Swiss expert recommendations.
• Patient Relations: The IBDnet broadly supports patient events organised by the patient association SMCCV/ASMCC (four to six annually). Most speakers at these patient information events are IBDnet Steering Committee members. Furthermore, in collaboration with the patient association, IBDnet develops and releases patient information guidebooks.

President: Stephan Vavricka
Secretary: Pierre Michetti
National Representatives: Pierre Michetti and Frank Seibold
Joined ECCO in: Switzerland was among the founding countries of ECCO.
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): IBD incidence is estimated to be 2 cases per 1,000 persons per year.