Beyond Symptoms — The Hidden Burden of IBD and the Future of Disease Modification

Statement of Need

Although treatment advances in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have improved symptom control, many patients continue to experience progressive structural bowel damage and systemic complications that are not adequately addressed in routine care. Gastroenterologists and multidisciplinary gastrointestinal (GI) care teams often focus primarily on luminal inflammation, with limited integration of fibrosis, extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs), and cumulative inflammatory burden into long-term treatment planning and disease modification strategies. As emerging scientific concepts and therapeutic approaches increasingly aim to alter the trajectory of IBD progression, clinicians such as gastroenterologists, GI fellows, physician associates, nurse practitioners, nurses, nurses, and pharmacists require a deeper understanding of how chronic inflammation contributes to irreversible intestinal and systemic consequences beyond symptoms alone.

In the first activity of this CMEO podcast series, expert faculty will assist learners to recognize fibrosis and extraintestinal manifestations as interconnected complications of chronic IBD, examine the role of cumulative inflammation in driving long-term structural and systemic disease progression, and apply emerging disease-modification concepts intended to improve long-term patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, learners will be able to better:

Identify fibrosis and EIMs as distinct but related consequences of chronic IBD
Assess how cumulative inflammatory burden contributes to structural and systemic disease progression
Evaluate emerging scientific concepts aimed at modifying long-term IBD outcomes

Financial Support

This activity is supported through an independent educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

Target Audience

Gastroenterologists, GI fellows, physician associates (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), nurses and pharmacists

Credit Information

Jointly Accredited Provider

In support of improving patient care, CME Outfitters, LLC, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physicians (ACCME) 0.75

CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacists (ACPE) 0.75

This activity is approved for 0.75 contact hours (0.075 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy credit (JA0007185-0000-26-089-H01-P).

Nurses (ANCC) 0.75

This activity is designated for 0.75 contact hours.

California Residents: Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 15510, for 0.75 Contact Hours.

Interprofessional (IPCE) 0.75

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 0.75 Interprofessional Continuing Education Credit for learning and change.

Physician Associates (AAPA): 0.75

CME Outfitters, LLC, has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 0.75 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until 07/13/2027. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

ABIM MOC 0.75

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 0.75 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

MIPS Improvement Activity

Completion of this accredited CME activity meets the expectations of an Accredited Safety or Quality Improvement Program (IA_PSPA_28) for the Merit-based Incentive Payment Program (MIPS). Clinicians should submit their improvement activities by attestation via the CMS Quality Payment Program website.

Royal College MOC

Through an agreement between the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, medical practitioners participating in the Royal College MOC Program may record completion of accredited activities registered under the ACCME’s “CME in Support of MOC” program in Section 3 of the Royal College’s MOC Program.

Disclosure Declaration

It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of their CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.

Dr. Naik reports the following financial relationships:

Advisory Board: AbbVie Inc; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Lilly; Johnson & Johnson

Speakers Bureau: AbbVie Inc; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Lilly; Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Sands reports the following financial relationships:

Advisory Board: Johnson & Johnson; Lilly; Merck & Co., Inc.; and Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Consultant: AbbVie Inc; Amgen Inc ; AstraZeneca ; Boehringer-IngelheimPharmaceuticals, Inc; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Celltrion; Genentech, Inc; Gilead Sciences, Inc; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; Lilly; Merck & Co., Inc./Prometheus Biosciences; Pfizer Inc; Sanofi – Gensyme; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; and Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc

Research Support: Johnson & Johnson

Stock Shareholder (directly purchased): Caldera Theraoeutics; Doximity; and SRT Therapeutics

The following individuals have no financial relationships to disclose:

Thai Nguyen, MD, MHA (Peer Reviewer)
Albert Eubanks, Jr., RN (Peer Reviewer)
Mary Gleason, PhD, CHCP (Planning Committee)
Leah Zadrozny, DVM, PhD (Planning Committee)
Siddharth Mohan, MPH (Planning Committee)
Sandra Caballero, PharmD (Planning Committee)
Sharon Tordoff (Planning Committee)

*All identified conflicts of interest have been mitigated.

Unlabeled Use Disclosure
Faculty of this CME/CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices. CME Outfitters, LLC, the faculty, planners, and reviewers do not endorse the use of any product outside of the FDA labeled indications. Medical professionals should not utilize the procedures, products, or diagnosis techniques discussed during this activity without evaluation of their patient for contraindications or dangers of use.

Obtaining Credit

Post-tests, credit request forms, and activity evaluations must be completed online (requires free account activation), and participants can print their certificate or statement of credit immediately (70% pass rate required). This website supports all browsers except Internet Explorer for Mac.

Questions about this activity?

Call us at 877.CME.PROS (877.263.7767).

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