First European Conference of Young Gastroenterologists –  ECYG

From 6^th to 9^th December 2018, Zagreb hosted the First European Conference of Young Gastroenterologists (ECYG). It was organised by the Croatian Society of Gastroenterology and its Youth Section and was endorsed by the European As­sociation for Gastroenterology, Endoscopy and Nutrition (EAGEN), European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESMN), European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB), University of Zagreb and University of Rijeka, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, University of Rijeka School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences of University of Rijeka, Croatian Medical As­sociation, as well as by Croatian Ministry of Health, Croatian Parliament and the President of the Republic of Croatia.

The conference as­sembled gastroenterologists in train­­ing and young specialists of up to 40 years of age from across Europe and beyond, in total more than 600 participants from 39 countries.

With the moto: LEARN, CONNECT, GROW, the aims of the conference were to improve the knowledge and train­­ing of young profes­sionals in the GI (gastrointestinal) com­munity and to stimulate and strengthen the international cooperation through great network­­ing opportunities dur­­ing the event.

The scientific part of the conference was tailored to the needs and preferences of the young generation in gastroenterology: case-based learn­­ing with evidence-based data for the management of GI dis­eases. The core program­me was delievered in pair-talks: a young GI fel­low present­­ing a chal­leng­­ing clinical case fol­lowed by up-to-date evidence-based knowledge presented by a senior expert in the subject field (Fig. 1). The evaluation from the ECYG smartphone application indicated that attendees as well as faculty members ranked this concept highly show­­ing it to be of great value to the conference.

The scientific quality is also reflected through 260 accepted conference abstracts, and the presentations and discus­sions dur­­ing two poster ses­sions revealed high quality research and case reports from young GIs across Europe, with some secur­­ing their first opportunity to present their work.

The main topics of the conference were –  update in hepatology and liver transplantation, microbio­ta, functional GI disorders, inflam­matory bowel dis­ease, clinical nutrition, GI oncology and education of young gastroenterologists.

Alongside the theoretical part, ultrasound and hands-on endoscopy was organised. Ultrasound train­­ing covered basic and advanced abdominal ultrasound, Doppler, elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound for liver dis­eases. Five stations of hands-on endoscopy covered GI bleeding, polypectomy and EMR (endoscopic mucosal resection), ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), EUS-FNA (endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration bio­psy) and ESD (endoscopic submucosal dis­section). Dur­­ing the conference, the ESPEN Life Long Learn­­ing Program­me (LLL) ‘Nutritional support in GI disorders’ was organised where delegates were able to acquire knowledge about clinical nutrition in the context of gastroenterology and hepatology.

Czech Republic and Slovakia were representend by the eminent profes­sors Ľubomir Skladany, Milan Lukas and Pavel Trunecka, who served as faculty members by deliver­­ing distinctive lectures and boost­­ing discus­sions in ses­sions they chaired (Fig. 2– 4). Apart from faculty members there were young col­leagues from Czech Republic and Slovakia who attended the ECYG conference.

In addition to the scientific part in the evenings there was a social program­me for all the participants. On the first night there was a ‚Croatian din­ner‘, a buf­fet with traditional Croatian food which was served on a large Croatia-shaped table. Each part of the table with its dish represented one of the Croatian regions (Fig. 5). On the second night our guests had an opportunity to visit a world famous Zagreb Christmas market, considered to be the best in Europe for the last three years. To br­­ing the conference to a close, there was a gala din­ner on the last even­­ing at the Sheraton hotel.

We hope that the ECYG project will continue with its succes­sful lectures, workshops and scientific section and that even more young gastroenterologists will have the opportunity to attend the conference (Fig. 6).

As­st. prof. Ivana Mikolašević, MD, PhD

Department of Gastroenterology

UHC Rijeka, School of Medicine

Rijeka, Croatia

ivana.mikolasevic@gmail.com