Gastroenterology

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there has been a marked improvement in the quality of study design and statistical rigour of gastroenterology studies. However, the complexity of gastroenterological problems has limited the size of the studies. Biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease has been a therapeutic landmark in therapeutics in gastroenterology, not only for increasing the sophistication in study design, but also for stimulating debate on fundamental goals of therapy. In hepatology, antiviral therapy has established large and robust multinational randomized controlled trials. Interventions in hepatology are now judged by their effect on hard clinical endpoints, including long-term survival. Clinical gastroenterology has matured into a specialty that challenges both the intellect and dexterity. This chapter highlights the evidence base for some of the most crucial developments in gastroenterology.