Report on the 17th IBD Intensive Advanced Course at ECCO'19

A novel feature was the online performance of a pre-course test by participants, whereas electronic voting pads were used for the post-course test and for voting on clinical scenarios presented during the course. The course layout (including slides of the presentations) is available via the e-CCO Learning Platform (https://e-learning.ecco-ibd.eu/) for those members who were unable to attend. 

A highlight was the inclusion, for the second year, of additional topics with the aim of providing new insights into the therapeutic management of IBD. The faculty was given the task of interacting with trainees on the practical aspects of how to use drugs, which generated a lot of interest and lively discussions. The first day also offered attendees an introduction to the basic science (the exposome, genetics and inflammatory pathways) and an opportunity to take part in clinical workshops on extraintestinal manifestations, endoscopy, management of IBD in pregnancy and adverse events associated with anti-TNF agents. On the following day, participants were able to apply their knowledge in numerous case-based discussions covering topics such as the peri- and postoperative management of IBD, severe acute Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Once again, the course achieved an extremely high overall satisfaction rating among the trainees (4.85 compared to 4.79 in 2018; 5 = outstanding; 4 = good; 3 = satisfactory; 2 = poor; 1 = very poor). This encourages us to continue to pursue the present path and to maintain the tradition of the course, which is central to the education of future IBD specialists throughout Europe and beyond.  

17th IBD Intensive Advanced Course 2019 © ECCO

17th IBD Intensive Advanced Course2019 © ECCO

All this would not be possible without the hard work of the ECCO Office, as well as the contributions of generations of speakers on previous courses, who deserve acknowledgement. A big thank you is due to this year’s faculty: Filip Baert, Shomron Ben-Horin, Dominik Bettenworth, Yehuda Chowers, Axel Dignass, Glen Doherty, Iris Dotan, Larry Egan, Marc Ferrante, Jonas Halfvarson, Peter Irving, David Laharie, Peter Lakatos, Pierre Michetti, Siew Ng, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, Tim Raine, Florian Rieder, Gerhard Rogler, Joana Torres, Stephan Vavricka and Janneke van der Woude. They offered outstanding didactic quality, as reflected in trainee satisfaction with this dimension of the course (4.5 out of 5). Finally, we wish especially to thank our colleagues on EduCom – James Lindsay (GB Education Officer), Antonio Lopez-Sanroman, Marietta Iaccuci, Paulo Kotze and Giovanni Maconi – for the time and energy that they invested in the course.

Applications can soon be made for the 18th Intensive Advanced IBD Course in Vienna. For European ECCO Member Countries, applications should be made via the National Representatives. For the few Member Countries that failed to put forward candidates this year, we would very much welcome nominations. For trainees from elsewhere, applications should be made through the ECCO Office with a covering letter and a CV.

We very much look forward to meeting you at the 18^th IBD Intensive Advanced Course in Vienna, Austria, and to lively discussions on all course topics. 

Participants in 2019: