Giovanni Maconi  © ECCO

Christian Maaser  © ECCO

Participating speakers and chairs: Antonio López-Sanromán (Madrid, Spain), Giovanni Maconi (Milan, Italy), Jordi Rimola (Barcelona, Spain), Torsten Kucharzik (Lüneburg, Germany), Stephan Vavricka (Zurich, Switzerland), Christian Maaser (Lüneburg, Germany), Rune Wilkens (Copenhagen, Denmark).

Pascal Juillerat  © ECCO

Henit Yanai  © ECCO

The 17th Intensive Advanced IBD Course took place before the ECCO Congress as the highlight of the educational programme, which runs in conjunction with the Congress.

This well-known course, which has been held regularly almost since the inception of ECCO, took place once again at the 14th Congress of ECCO, attracting a full attendance from Europe and beyond. Overall, 87 doctors from 41 countries participated and were treated to a comprehensive update on IBD. 

November 16, 2018

On November 16, the 60th ECCO Educational Workshop took place in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with the participation of Antonio López San Román (Spain) and Henit Yanai (Israel) as representatives of ECCO along with other speakers from the Canary Islands such as Laura Ramos, Daniel Ceballos, José Miguel Marrero and Mariela Braithwaite as well as Ana Catarina Rego (Portugal).

October 9, 2018

The 59th ECCO Educational Workshop was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on October 9, 2018. The workshop was a pre-congress course during the national Uruguayan congress of gastroenterology (Gastroendo 2018), at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Montevideo.

September 28, 2018

The 58th ECCO Educational Workshop on paediatric IBD, held on September 28, 2018 was jointly organised by Belgium and the Netherlands and took place in Antwerp, Belgium. The ECCO Faculty, comprising Patrick van Rheenen and Lissy de Ridder from the Netherlands and John Mansfield from Newcastle, United Kingdom, joined the local faculty consisting of Isabelle Scheers, Nicolette Moes and Els Van de Vijver. Lindley Fritze from the ECCO Office provided efficient and smooth organisation of the meeting on the spot.

September 5, 2018

The 57th ECCO Educational Workshop was held in Helsinki, Finland on September 5, 2018. The meeting preceded the annual two-day autumn meeting of the Finnish Society of Gastroenterology and attracted adult and paediatric gastroenterologists and IBD nurses from all parts of Finland. The workshop was chaired by the Finnish ECCO National Representatives Pauliina Molander and Clas-Göran af Björkesten, with the other faculty members being Taina Sipponen, Pascal Juillerat and Christian Maaser.

Giovanni Maconi © ECCO

Modern diagnostic imaging is no longer being employed purely in a diagnostic role in IBD, in order to confirm or exclude the disease and its complications; rather, it is now becoming a crucial aid in the management of patients, in particular for the tailoring and monitoring of therapy. Thus, alongside diagnostic indications ranging from early diagnosis to the detection of abdominal complications, imaging techniques are increasingly being used for the assessment and prediction of many other factors, including evaluation of response to treatment both early after its introduction (as part of the step-up approach to treatment) and in the long term (to assist in decision making with respect to exit strategies, e.g. by helping to determine the right time to suspend a biological therapy in patients successfully treated over a long period).

Giovanni Maconi  © ECCO

Marietta Iacucci  © ECCO

In 2019 the Educational Programme at the ECCO Congress will again include two workshops devoted to IBD imaging. The first will be centered on basic endoscopy, ultrasound and MRI while the second will focus on advancements in intestinal ultrasound. Both workshops will be possible thanks to the extensive cooperation of gastroenterologists with experience in intestinal imaging from ECCO and our partner societies.

The 1^st ECCO-ESGAR Basic Imaging Workshop will educate attendees in how to make a precise diagnosis and how to better direct the therapeutic management of IBD patients using the latest imaging technologies. It is designed for gastroenterologists, endoscopists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists and other interdisciplinary medical experts interested in diagnostic imaging and endoscopy of Inflammatory Bowel Disease(s) (IBD).

April 28, 2018

The primary goal of ECCO Educational Workshops is to harmonise IBD practices within ECCO Member Countries by presenting the practical use of the ECCO Guidelines on Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Additionally, these workshops provide continuous medical education with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of care for patients with IBD. ECCO Educational Workshops are aimed at individuals who are interested in IBD and provide an ideal opportunity to network whilst receiving an update on the latest ECCO Guidelines from top gastroenterologists in Europe.

Peter Irving © ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

The purpose of e-CCO is to improve knowledge, to enhance the educational experience and to equalise access to advanced learning opportunities in IBD for our members and throughout the world. I am pleased to be able to highlight, therefore, how the e-Learning Taskforce continues to work hard to keep the e-CCO Learning site up to date with the aim of achieving these goals.