[What useful developments for my inflammatory bowel disease practice have come from Digestive Disease Week 2014?]

The objective of this article is to summarize reports presented at Digestive Disease Week 2014 that relate to fertility and pregnancy, inflammatory bowel disease in elderly patients, the risk of cancer and its relationship to treatment and finally, developments regarding psychological aspects that may affect patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Studies were selected at the discretion of the author, mainly considering those with conclusions that can be applied immediately to clinical practice. Using anti-TNF drugs during pregnancy is safe in the short term. This currently seems to be true for the medium and the long term. To limit fetal exposure, the mother can safely stop taking the anti-TNF drugs in the second trimester of the pregnancy if she is in remission. Elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease require stricter monitoring than younger patients due to the risk of complications, especially infections associated with the disease and treatments. The effect of inflammatory bowel disease and the drugs for its treatment on the risk of development is still not well established, but the magnitude of the effect seems possibly lower than previously described. The causal link between psychological factors and the occurrence of IBD relapse is by no means established.