Volume 19, Issue 2

Combination therapy with anti-TNF inhibitors (ATI) and immunomodulator (IMM) therapy remains an efficacious treatment strategy for disease control in moderate to severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This conclusion was largely based on the findings of landmark trials, SONIC and UC SUCCESS, which showed combination therapy to be far superior to monotherapy in achieving durable clinical and endoscopic remission in IBD [1, 2]...

Adalimumab is an effective and safe treatment for Crohn’s Disease (CD). However, both patients and healthcare professionals may wish to mitigate medication exposure due to potential safety and economic concerns in the long term. Since a high relapse rate follows drug discontinuation, treatment de-escalation without actually stopping the medication may allow for decreasing drug exposure while maintaining efficacy. In two observational studies, de-escalation from a 2-week to a 3-week adalimumab dosing interval was successful in most of the patients, though reversal to a 2-week dosing interval...

Dear Y-ECCO Enthusiasts! Can you believe that it’s been only four months since the last ECCO Congress? I bet that many of you are already knee-deep in exciting research for ECCO 2025 in Berlin, so mark your calendars and keep an eye open for the abstract submission deadline. You can’t miss that, as we want to see your top-notch research! Maybe you are the next Y-ECCO Best Abstract awardee!

Dear ECCO friends and family, It is my pleasure to introduce the ECCO National Representatives of Malta Martina Sciberras and Pierre Ellul. We had a great discussion on a variety of topics such as the challenges of treating IBD in Malta, how working with a small but excellently followed cohort of patients can be a strength, how the Maltese Group of IBD is not only importing all newest developments such as intestinal ultrasound but also paving the way for younger colleagues to train and hone their skills abroad and much more!

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...

The 6th ECCO Workshop on Imaging, a key part of ECCO's Educational Programme, took place during the 20th Congress of ECCO in Berlin in February 2025. Due to high interest, two identical sessions were held on the same day, allowing more participants to take part in this hands-on learning course. We thank all the speakers and tutors, whose expertise and dedication contributed to the success of the event. This collaborative effort brought together leading gastroenterologists from ECCO and IBUS, along with radiologists from the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR),