Free Gastroenterology CME

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. While a majority of patients are diagnosed before their disease has metastasized, a fifth of patients have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Early detection and screening have been shown to significantly reduce CRC mortality, and screening is widely recommended for average-risk adults beginning at age 50 years, (as well as earlier for individuals at higher risk). Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Cancer Society, and other groups have recommended several modalities for screening: fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium enema. Recent years have seen the addition of newer screening technologies, including stool DNA, computed tomographic colonography, and capsule endoscopy.

Target Audience:

Healthcare professionals including: medical oncologists, primary care physicians, pathologists, gastroenterologists, and managed care medical care directors; physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists specializing in oncology; and other clinicians who are involved in providing diagnostic and therapeutic services for patients with CRC.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a broad term that includes many different forms of inflammatory bowel conditions, the most common of which are ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), the former of which exclusively affects the colon and rectum. UC occurs more frequently than CD, with an incidence of 1.2 to 20.3 cases per 100,000 persons per year and a prevalence of 7.6 to 246.0 cases per 100,000 per year, as compared to 0.03 to 15.6 and 3.6 to 214.0 per 100,000 for CD. Risk factors include characteristics common in westernized environments and lifestyles, including smoking, diets high in fat and sugar, medication use, stress, and high socioeconomic status.

Target Audience:

HCPs specializing in: gastroenterology, internal medicine; nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who specialize in gastroenterology; and those who otherwise commonly care for or clinically encounter patients with UC.

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Describe the burden of disease UC represents to patients.
• Identify the present treatment options currently available for management of UC and apply them to patient cases using evidence-based medicine.
• Identify new and emerging therapies for the treatment of UC.
• Evaluate a treatment plan for a specific patient based on severity of UC to optimize safety, efficacy, and cost-efficacy, suggesting modifications for improvement.

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This course contains two courses:

• Crohn’s Disease: Therapeutic Updates, Barriers to Care, and Emerging Therapies (1 hr CME)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): A Global Approach to Quality Management and Barriers to Care in an Era of Resource Consciousness(1.25 hr CME)
• In order to get credit from ScientiaCME, you must first establish a username and password.

Target Audience:

Healthcare professionals specializing in colon and rectal surgery, family medicine, internal medicine, gastroenterology, oncology, pain management, palliative care, primary care, proctology, and other clinicians who treat patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders.

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a condition in which a patient exhibits malabsorption-induced diarrhea, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and malnutrition due to decreased nutrient absorption that results from extensive surgical resection of the intestine or congenital defects. It is a form of intestinal failure (IF), which is defined as a need for supplementary parenteral or enteral nutrition when intestinal function is insufficient to meet the body’s nutritional requirements.

After reviewing Short Bowel Syndrome – updates from DDW 2018 physicians will better be able to:

• Describe current trends in the epidemiology of SBS
• List causes of SBS in pediatrics and adults
• Review the clinical manifestations and complications of SBS
• Summarize updates in medical management in SBS and apply them to patient cases
• Discuss surgical strategies in the management of SBS and apply them to patient cases

Target Audience: gastroenterologists and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in gastroenterology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with Short Bowel Syndrom.

Carcinoid Syndrome: Updates in Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment consists of a single lecture and discussion by Drs. Matthew H. Kulke and C. Metz.

After viewing Carcinoid Syndrome, you will be better able to:
• Summarize the cause of carcinoid syndrome
• Perform an appropriate workup and differential diagnosis from presenting symptoms
• Adopt evidence-based best practices in managing carcinoid syndrome, including strategies to address refractory or poorly controlled symptoms
• Evaluate safety and efficacy of current and emerging treatment approaches for carcinoid syndrome

Target Audiences:
This program is intended for US-based medical oncologists, endocrinologists and gastroenterologists, as well as oncology physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses involved in the diagnosis and management of carcinoid tumors and carcinoid syndrome.

IBD is a broad term that includes many different forms of inflammatory bowel conditions, the most common of which are ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease, the former of which exclusively affects the colon and rectum. Guidelines exist for the treatment of UC, but they are constantly changing to include updated information. Despite the plethora of guidelines available, there are issues surrounding guideline adherence by physicians, patient satisfaction, the quality of treatment and a patient’s QOL. Given the data from multiple studies that physicians are either not aware of updated practice guidelines or are not utilizing them, that this lack of knowledge is affecting patient satisfaction, and that there may be demographically-based barriers to care, educational activities are warranted to keep HCPs abreast of best practices in patients with UC. This activity has been designed to review treatment strategies, emerging therapies, and gaps in care of patients with UC.

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Describe long-term outcomes of UC patients with dysplasia who undergo endoscopic resection and surveillance and apply that information to a patient case
• Describe the effect of endoscopic and histologic remission as treatment targets
• Describe the risk of biologic therapy use in special populations, such as elderly and surgical patients and apply that information to a patient case
• Recall emerging data on biologic drug safety and efficacy

Target Audience:

Healthcare professionals specializing in: gastroenterology, internal medicine, and those who otherwise commonly care for patients with UC.

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is defined by a transmural process that often occurs in the terminal ileum but may occur in any portion of the GI tract. Although the exact etiology of CD is unknown, a handful of genetic, immunological, and environmental risk factors have been identified. Research suggests that in genetically susceptible patients, there is an impaired immune response to commensal or pathogenic intestinal microbiota that drives mucosal inflammation. The incidence of pediatric CD (pCD) is increasing around the globe, varying between 2.5 to 11.4 per 100,000, with an estimated prevalence of 58 per 100,000. Approximately 25% of patients are diagnosed with IBD before the age of 18. Intestinal and abdominal complications such as strictures, abscesses, and fistulas are common among pediatric patients and increase as the disease progresses. IBD impairs attendance at school, and psychosocial ramifications in children diagnosed with IBD incdude a higher incidence of depression and anxiety.

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Describe differences between European and American approaches to pCD
• Identify the present nutritional and pharmacotherapeutic treatment options currently available for management of pCD and apply them to patient cases using evidence-based medicine
• Identify new and emerging approaches to and therapies for the treatment of pCD
• Evaluate a treatment plan for a specific patient based on severity of pCD to optimize safety and efficacy, suggesting modifications for improvement

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: pediatricians and pediatric gastroenterologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with pCD.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is among the most common disorders seen by primary care as well as gastroenterology specialty clinics. Patients with IBS usually present with chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habit, in the absence of any other disease to cause these sorts of symptoms. The disorder is associated with annual healthcare expenditures of $20 billion and significant costs in lost work productivity and health-related quality-of-life.

Although not uncommon, there is still much that is unknown about IBS-C, and its diagnosis has largely remained dependent on symptom-based criteria with their share of limitations.

This activity has been designed to update HCPs’ knowledge of IBS-C and to improve their competence and performance in treating it.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: Gastroenterologists and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in gastroenterology; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with IBS-C.