Tim Raine © ECCO

The generation of expert guidelines to assist and guide management decisions for patients living with IBD lies at the heart of the mission of ECCO. This makes GuiCom a very busy Committee within ECCO. Additionally, as many will be aware, GuiCom has moved towards using the GRADE methodology for future guidelines projects wherever appropriate. Whilst this will undoubtedly improve the quality and accountability of our guidelines, it is clear that the introduction of GRADE methodology comes at a cost in terms of the significant extra effort that will be demanded of all guideline participants and committee members.  

Glen Doherty © ECCO

The revised pipeline for updating of ECCO Guidelines was recently established. This pipeline envisages updates to the two main guidelines on treatment of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis in adults every 3 years. Other ECCO Guidelines will be updated approximately every 5 years. Having just completed publication of the first ECCO Guideline on treatment of Crohn’s Disease in adults employing GRADE methodology, work is now underway on a similar update to the main ECCO UC Guideline. Similar to the 2019 Crohn’s Disease Guideline, the updated UC Guideline will employ GRADE methodology to address most of the key questions, covering both medical and surgical treatments.