This month’s Letter from the Editor is guest authored by Dr. Megan A. Adams, GI & Hepatology News Associate Editor
September is a month of new beginnings, as summer transitions to fall, kids go back to school, and we return to more consistent work routines, refreshed and reinvigorated after some well-deserved time off with family and friends. Among our cover stories this month is a study showing a novel application of deep learning to inform clinical care of patients with pancreatic cysts. We also feature several high-impact studies from AGA’s journals, including a large randomized controlled trial by Dr. Paul Moayyedi and colleagues, demonstrating that PPI therapy may be unnecessary in the majority of patients on oral anticoagulants, despite current guideline recommendations. This study has the potential to substantially change clinical practice, particularly in the context of the current discussion regarding PPI benefits and harms, and our transition to value-based care.
We also highlight a proof-of-concept study demonstrating a potential role for probiotics (specifically Bifidobacteria) in reducing the risk of NSAID-related gastrointestinal bleeding, and another study showing a possible role for clopidogrel in chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. Both articles are accompanied by expert commentaries highlighting their potential effect on clinical practice.
Dr. Megan A. Adams
Our September issue also emphasizes the importance of professional advocacy by chronicling the participation of four AGA leaders (Dr. Carr, Dr. Kaufman, Dr. Ketwaroo, and Dr. Mathews) in the 2019 Alliance of Specialty Medicine Fly In, a multisociety effort to lobby legislators on key issues such as reducing prior authorization burdens and minimizing the strict constraints of step-therapy protocols. We also are pleased to acknowledge the future leaders of gastroenterology by recognizing the 17 exceptional fellows who demonstrated their passion for advancing GI clinical care by presenting their institutional quality improvement projects at a special session at DDW® 2019. We hope you find these stories to be thought provoking, inspiring, and directly relevant to your clinical practice – thank you for reading!
Megan A. Adams, MD, JD, MSc
Associate Editor
