WebMD Newsroom

By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Guest Blogger

Oct. 27, 2009 (San Diego) — Mention “gastroenterologist” and some people will ask, “Which doc is that, again?” Others will literally back away, wary of their upcoming (or recent) colonoscopy.

Suffice it to say, gastroenterologists — charged with the health of our entire digestive tract and liver –don’t have the fun-and-games image of, say, pediatricians who wear clown noses to amuse their young patients.

But another side of GI docs emerged when about 5,000 of them gathered in San Diego this week for the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterologists. The fun side!

In between serious research sessions, some shot hoops in the exhibit hall at the booth of PLUS Diagnostics, a diagnostic laboratory. Spokesperson Char Schraibman admitted it was a shameless (and effective) attempt to attract docs.

Over at the booth of Shire Pharmaceuticals doctors tried their hands at a video game to deliver the medicine to the little man on the screen before the bugs got him.

And at a press briefing Monday, David A. Greenwald, MD, a gastroenterologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, excitedly unveiled what he calls “Facebook for GI docs.” It’s a secure social network, hosted by the American College of Gastroenterologists and called the GI Circle, designed to help gastroenterologists communicate and view breaking news on research.

Whatever your score at fun and games — or your friend tally on Facebook — the stress relief might be good for your GI tract, research presented at the meeting suggests. At a press briefing Tuesday, researchers warned that workplace stress can wreak havoc on your GI system.

Other research focused on improvements in colonoscopy, considered the gold standard for detecting colorectal cancer, which kills about 49,000 people annually in the U.S. High-definition colonoscopy is being phased in, with new machines replacing older ones.

A tiny camera device, called the Third Eye Retroscope or TER, gives doctors a better look at the colon as they withdraw the scope, helping them find growths hiding behind the many folds of the intestines.

There was news about old diseases, such as P. Patrick Basu, MD, of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons’ report that a four-drug regimen, including antibiotics and a medicine to reduce stomach acid, works better to wipe out the ulcer-causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori than a three-drug regimen often prescribed.

It got a thumbs-up (over the phone) from Emmet Keeffe, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., a gastroenterologist who reviewed the findings for WebMD. “This is a relatively convenient regimen and has a high success rate,” he says.

As for patients who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, they should be extra wary of too much sun exposure, Millie Long, MD, of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill cautioned.

In her research, she found that IBD patients were more likely to get nonmelanoma skin cancers, especially if they are on certain medications.

Her findings, she cautions, are no reason to abandon treatment, especially if IBD patients get relief. Rather, it’s a wakeup call, she says, to pay close attention to sun safety practices such as wearing sunscreen.

Despite the advances in technology, the GI doctors stressed that patients play a big role in their own GI health. Compliance with medications for IBD and other problems is always an issue, they say. And those about to undergo colonoscopy need to know preparation is crucial.

For those looking for a bowel prep alternative to that traditional pre-procedure cocktail, researchers from Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in New York reported that a pre-colonoscopy regimen of lukewarm salt water and exercise works as well as traditional measures.

Stay tuned, they’re studying the approach further before it is ready for prime time.