News Items

The Clinical Practice Guideline Committee's newest guideline, Clinical Practice Guideline for the Surgical Management of Crohn's Disease, has been published in the November issue of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum.

Crohn’s disease is a chronic, unremitting, incurable inflammatory disorder that can affect any segment of the intestinal tract, as well as extraintestinal sites. Disease behavior is classified as nonstricturing, nonpenetrating (ie, inflammatory), fibrostenotic, or penetrating, and is prone to change over the course of the disease. Approximately 19% to 38% of patients have stricturing or penetrating complications at the time of diagnosis, whereas ~61% to 88% of patients will have developed these manifestations after 20 years of disease. Although the etiology of Crohn’s disease remains unknown, the disease likely results from a complex interplay between conditioning factors (eg, genetics, triggering events) and effector mechanisms that lead to a dysregulation of both intestinal immune and nonimmune functions.

Before the introduction of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) medications, population-based cohorts from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United States, and Wales reported that surgical intervention is performed in 27% to 61% of patients with Crohn’s disease within 5 years of diagnosis. Independent risk factors associated with undergoing an initial surgery (versus reoperation) according to similar population-based cohorts include current tobacco usage, disease location, stricturing or penetrating disease behavior, and (although somewhat controversial) the early use of high-dose glucocorticoids or immunomodulators. This clinical practice guideline will focus on the surgical management of patients with Crohn’s disease.

This publication is a revision of the 2007 guideline of the same name. Read the full guideline now.

To review the full November 2015 issue, log in to your member account at the top of the page and then follow the DC&R link.

The Public Relations Committee is highlighting a different colorectal condition each month to create awareness and provide accurate information for patients. The focus in April is Ulcerative Colitis.

To highlight each condition, ASCRS will post on social media and reach out to related organizations to share the posts. We encourage Society members to share these posts and other ASCRS patient-focused information from our website with your patients.

Please look for posts on Facebook and Twitter on ulcerative colitis and share them with your network. The ASCRS website has a wealth of information, including a patient education webpage and video, as well as a Clinical Practice Guideline for surgeons. We encourage you to use these resources for up-to-date information on ulcerative colitis.

The Public Relations Committee is highlighting a different colorectal condition each month to create awareness and provide accurate information for patients. In February, the focus is Pilonidal Disease.

Please look for posts on Facebook and Twitter and share them with your network. The ASCRS website has a wealth of information on Pilonidal Disease, including a patient education brochure and video. We encourage you to share these resources with your patients. You may also purchase Pilonidal Disease brochures for your and provide them as take-home material.

The Public Relations Committee is highlighting a different colorectal condition each month to create awareness and provide accurate information for patients.

To highlight each condition, ASCRS will post on social media and reach out to related organizations to share the posts. We encourage Society members to share these posts and other ASCRS patient-focused information from our website with your patients.

In January, the focus is colon cancer. Please look for posts on Facebook and Twitter and share them with your network. The ASCRS website has a wealth of information on colon cancer, including a patient education webpage and video, as well as a Clinical Practice Guideline for surgeons. We encourage you to use these resources for up-to-date information on colon cancer.

The ASCRS is delighted to announce that the 2016 ASCRS Annual Reception and Dinner Dance will include a guest appearance from Hollywood's very own, Dave Coulier.

Best known for his role as Uncle Joey on the hit television show, Full House, Dave is also the voice behind characters on beloved cartoons Scooby Doo, The Jetson's, and The Muppet Babies. Dave's stand-up routine has entertained audiences across the country and he's appeared on The Tonight Show, HBO's Detroit Comedy Jam, and HBO's Comic Relief at Radio City Music Hall. Dave is a resident of Los Angeles and enjoys flying, hockey, and golf in his free time.

On February 26, Netflix will release the new Fuller House spinoff series, in which Dave will reprise his role as Joey.

The Annual Reception and Dinner Dance will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE Hotel. Dinner Dance tickets are available for purchase with Annual Scientific Meeting registration. Full-paying members and Fellows of the Society will receive one complimentary ticket with their registration (must indicate plan to attend on registration form).

An exceptional lineup of workshops and educational sessions focused on colon and rectal surgery is planned for the Annual Scientific Meeting April 30 – May 4, 2016, in Los Angeles, CA. Learn more about the meeting at www.fascrs.org/ascrs16.