Welcome

Recent years have seen dramatic developments in the technology available for clinical investigation of swallowing, gastro-esophageal reflux, digestive and continence function. Advances in this field of clinical science were to be considered in the Ascona III Meeting; however, due to the Covid-19 crisis, this meeting has been postponed.

The work of the International Working Group for Disorders of Gastrointestinal Motility and Function continues. This umbrella organization for academics and clinicians with an interest in the diagnosis and management of patients with these conditions covers five special interest areas:

• Pharyngeal Swallow (Steering Committee: Nathalie Rommel, Taher Omari)
• Esophageal motility disorders (Steering Committee: John Pandolfino, Rena Yadlapati)
• Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (Steering Committee: Sabine Roman, Prakash Gyawali, Arjan Bredenoord, Edoardo Savarino)
• Gastric and Digestive Function (Steering Committee: Heinz Hammer, Daniel Pohl, Jutta Keller)
• Disorders of anorectal function (Emma Carrington, Henriette Heinrich, Mark Scott, Charlie Knowles, Donato Altomare, Adil Bharucha, Satish Rao)

Each working group brings together experts to agree standard operating procedures for technologies used in clinical physiological measurement and establish classification systems for disorders of gastrointestinal motility and function.

In 2011 the HRM Working Group gathered in Ascona to introduce the Chicago Classification of Oesophageal Motility Disorders for High-Resolution Manometry. In 2015 the group met again to review advances in oesophageal measurement, diagnosis of Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease and management of Anorectal Disorders. View Ascona II content on-line.

The Ascona III Meeting that was planned for July 2020 will be postponed. The exact format is to be confirmed; however,  as before, it will involve a world class faculty. The planned Ascona III Program is now available. If you cannot make it to the upcoming meetings, the content will be available on this website and, in due course, classification systems and guidelines will be disseminated by faculty.

Throughout the focus of the working group will be on clinical practice, highlighting how the information provided by this equipment can provide an explanation for patient symptoms, establish definitive diagnosis and guide effective management.

Mark Fox on behalf of the steering committee