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.

Croatia

Name of group: IBD Section, Croatian Society of Gastroenterology
Number of active members:  65
Number of meetings per year: 2-3
President: Željko Krznarić
Secretary: Brankica Mijandruŝić-Sinĉić
National Representatives: Zeljko Krznaric and Ante Tonkic
Joined ECCO in: 2001 (Boris Vucelic was one of the founders of ECCO) 
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
     Primorsko-goranska County, Croatia, 2000–2004: UC 4.3/105, CD 7.0/105 
     Zagreb City and Zagreb Area, 2010: UC 3.3/105, CD 3.3/105

Sandra Bohn Thomsen  © Sandra Bohn Thomsen

Evolution after anti-TNF discontinuation in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A multicentre long-term follow-up study

Casanova MJ, Chaparro M, García-Sánchez V, Nantes O, Leo E, Rojas-Feria M, et al.
Am J Gastroenterol. 2017;112:120–31

Kapil Sahnan  © Kapil Sahnan

Laparoscopic ileocaecal resection versus infliximab for terminal ileitis in Crohn’s disease: A randomised controlled, open-label, multicentre trial 

Ponsioen CY, de Groof EJ, Eshuis EJ, Gardenbroek TJ, Bossuyt PMM, Hart A, et al. 
Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;2:785–92. 

Bobby Zhao Sheng Lo © Bobby Zhao Sheng Lo

Prediction of complicated disease course for children newly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease: A multicentre inception cohort study

Kugathasan S, Denson LA, Walters TD, Kim MO, Marigorta UM, Schirmer M, et al.
Lancet. 2017;389:1710–8.

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

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

We are revisiting the multidisciplinary IBD team. Today, I am delighted to be joined by Palle Bager, an IBD nurse specialist and the current N-ECCO Chair.

Please contact me for any interview suggestions for the Y-ECCO Interview Corner.

Nuha Yassin
Y-ECCO Interview Corner Coordinator

Isabelle Cleynen  ©  ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

This will be the last time that I address you as Y-ECCO Chair. At the next ECCO Congress (2018, Vienna), I shall be stepping down and it is with great pleasure that I will then hand over the position of Chair to Nuha Yassin (UK), who has been serving on the Committee for three years. There will also be a new member joining the Committee, for which the selection process has been completed. We received seven excellent applications, and would like to encourage those who were not selected this time to re-apply in coming years.

Miranda Lomer  ©  ECCO

At least a third of patients with inactive IBD have coexisting functional bowel symptoms (e.g.  abdominal pain, bloating, increased flatulence, diarrhoea and/or constipation) and these symptoms may be mistaken for active IBD. Patients may also experience increased anxiety/depression and reduced quality of life. Objective markers of disease activity (histological and inflammatory markers, e.g. faecal calprotectin, C-reactive protein), in conjunction with assessment of clinical symptoms, help to distinguish between functional bowel symptoms and active IBD. Identification of functional bowel symptoms in inactive IBD is important to avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment strategies; on the other hand, active disease should be excluded before establishing that symptoms are functional in nature.