Optimizing patient care through technological advancements and best practices — as well as boosting diversity and inclusion — were front and center at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting this week in Las Vegas.

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under President Barack Obama, gave a keynote on the COVID-19 pandemic, colorectal cancer prevention, and a view of what is to come in healthcare in the U.S. and globally.

In the J. Edward Berk Distinguished Lecture, “The End of The Beginning: Megatrends in Gastroenterology,” Dr. William D. Chey offered his perspective on how personalized healthcare will be enabled in the coming years by digital health, integrated care, and artificial intelligence — a consistent theme of lectures, exhibitors, and posters.

Dr. Amy S. Oxentenko gave The American Journal of Gastroenterology lecture on Monday afternoon. She was chosen by the journal’s co-editors to present “Hidden in Plain Sight: Bringing Women Into the Scope of Gastroenterology,” touching on women’s role in the history of medicine. 

There’s a strong need to standardize and comply with recommendations for parental leave, according to a poster presentation assessing family leave and pregnancy outcomes among gastroenterologists. Many GI physicians reported delaying having children and higher pregnancy complication rates. 

Two poster presentations focused on contamination rates of reusable duodenoscopes. A systematic review and meta-analysis of reprocessed endoscopes determined the contamination rate of reprocessed GI endoscopes to be 19.98 percent. It concluded that the elevator mechanism, often attributed to endoscope contamination, is not the only obstacle to reprocessing flexible endoscopes.

Another poster by the same authors, entitled “Don’t Blame the Elevator, the Duodenoscope Channels are Contaminated as Well,” concluded that 14.41 percent of patient-ready reusable duodenoscopes may be contaminated unrelated to the elevator.

Researchers out of Mount Sinai Health System, meanwhile, evaluated the feasibility, safety, performance, and user experience of a novel single-use duodenoscope and determined it was able to complete 84 percent of cases on its own and was rated 3.9 out of 5 in overall satisfaction.