Motility and the Mind-Gut Connection

Understanding the mind/gut connection in motility disorders was the topic of a recent Gastroenterology Town Hall at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The CME was presented virtually on Nov. 11, 2020.

CHOP pediatric gastroenterologists presented three educational sessions about hot topics in motility, including:

• Demystifying the Distinctions Between Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) by Art Kastl, MD
• Keeping Things Moving: Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Constipation by Jennifer Webster, DO
• Interdisciplinary Care for Pediatric Functional GI Disorders by Kari F. Baber, PhD

The sessions were followed by a Q&A panel that included GI experts from CHOP: David A. Piccoli, MD, Georgia Pitsakis, MSW, LCSW, and Dr. Kastl, Dr. Webster and Dr. Baber. The session was moderated by Dr. Piccoli.

The Nov. 11 event was accredited for 1.5 AMA PRA Category I Credit by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

About the speakers

• David A. Piccoli, MD, is Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Director of the Biesecker Pediatric Liver Center, and a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist at CHOP. He holds the Fred and Suzanne Biesecker Endowed Chair in Pediatric Liver Disease.
• Art Kastl, MD, is an attending physician with the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at CHOP.
• Jennifer Webster, DO, is an attending physician in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at CHOP.
• Kari F. Baber, PhD, is a psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at CHOP.
• Georgia Pitsakis, MSW, LCSW, is a clinical social worker in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at CHOP.