Objective We aimed to provide an evidence-supported update of the ECCO-ESPGHAN guideline on the medical management of paediatric Crohn’s disease [CD]. Methods We formed 10 working groups and formulated 17 PICO-structured clinical questions [Patients, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcome]. A systematic literature search from January 1, 1991 to March 19, 2019 was conducted by a medical librarian using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central databases. A shortlist of 30 provisional statements were further refined during a consensus meeting in Barcelona in October 2019 and subjected to a vote. In total 22 statements reached ≥ 80% agreement and were retained. Results We established that it was key to identify patients at high risk of a complicated disease course at the earliest opportunity, to reduce bowel damage. Patients with perianal disease, stricturing or penetrating behaviour, or severe growth retardation should be considered for up-front anti-tumour necrosis factor [TNF] agents in combination with an immunomodulator. Therapeutic drug monitoring to guide treatment changes is recommended over empirically escalating anti-TNF dose or switching therapies. Patients with low-risk luminal CD should be induced with exclusive enteral nutrition [EEN], or with corticosteroids when EEN is not an option, and require immunomodulator-based maintenance therapy. Favourable outcomes rely on close monitoring of treatment response, with timely adjustments in therapy when treatment targets are not met. Serial faecal calprotectin measurements or small bowel imaging [ultrasound or magnetic resonance enterography] are more reliable markers of treatment response than clinical scores alone. Conclusions We present state-of-the-art guidance on the medical treatment and long-term management of children and adolescents with CD.

No abstract

Background: Surgeons urgently need guidance on how to deliver surgical services safely and effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to identify the key domains that should be considered when developing pandemic preparedness plans for surgical services. Methods: A scoping search was conducted to identify published articles relating to management of surgical patients during pandemics. Key informant interviews were conducted with surgeons and anaesthetists with direct experience of working during infectious disease outbreaks, in order to identify key challenges and solutions to delivering effective surgical services during the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Thirteen articles were identified from the scoping search, and surgeons and anaesthetists representing 11 territories were interviewed. To mount an effective response to COVID-19, a pandemic response plan for surgical services should be developed in advance. Key domains that should be included are: provision of staff training (such as patient transfers, donning and doffing personal protection equipment, recognizing and managing COVID-19 infection); support for the overall hospital response to COVID-19 (reduction in non-urgent activities such as clinics, endoscopy, non-urgent elective surgery); establishment of a team-based approach for running emergency services; and recognition and management of COVID-19 infection in patients treated as an emergency and those who have had surgery. A backlog of procedures after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is inevitable, and hospitals should plan how to address this effectively to ensure that patients having elective treatment have the best possible outcomes.