When the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) wanted to summarize its guidelines for clinicians and students, it turned to Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai. The resulting book, Guide to the Guidelines: Vol. 1, uses clinical examples and a conversational tone to summarize key concepts in gastroenterology and hepatology practice.

The book covers the guidelines for neurogastroenterology and motility, the esophagus, gastrointestinal (GI) disease prevention and treatment, and quality matters relating to colonoscopy preparation. With chapters such as “Gut Feelings,” “Down the Hatch,” and “Lumps and Bumps,” the vibe is as light as the subject matter is serious.

“We got to thinking: Wouldn’t it be handy to have a ‘guide to the guidelines’ that digested (pun intended) the thousand pages of ACG documents into a concise, entertaining and useful review?” write Spiegel, the Dorothy and George Gourrich Chair in Digital Health Ethics at Cedars-Sinai, and co-author Hetal A. Karsan, MD, in the preface.

The authors emphasize that although it is informative, the guide is not a substitute for reading the full guidelines. Instead, their aim is to “bring the ACG material to life” with “a vignette-driven exploration” distilled from years of firsthand experience. 

The book also features practical advice that clinicians can apply with their own patients, along with answers to common questions not fully addressed in the guidelines. Each chapter is followed by multiple-choice questions to enhance self-learning. 

Guide to the Guidelines is the first of a three-volume series. The trilogy’s subsequent books will cover inflammatory bowel diseases and what the authors refer to as “the extraluminal onramps, including the pancreas and biliary system.”

Since the ACG guidelines may change frequently, the authors plan to continue updating each volume for future editions.

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