GI Emergencies: A Quick Reference Guide

Robert C. Lowe, MD is an associate professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in Massachusetts and is the Fellowship Director for the Section of Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Dr. Lowe received his BA from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1988 and his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1992. He completed his internal medicine residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he was selected to be Chief Medical Resident. He trained in gastroenterology at BMC and has been on staff at BMC since 2001. His clinical interests include general gastroenterology and hepatology, with a particular interest in the care of patients with viral liver diseases and cirrhosis.   Dr. Lowe is also heavily involved with the educational program at Boston University and BMC. In addition to his work as Fellowship Director for the Section of Gastroenterology, he is a dedicated Educator in the BMC Department of Medicine, attending several months each year on the medicine wards and facilitating a bimonthly educational conference for house staff. At BUSM, he is the Director of the Second Year Vision Committee, which administers an integrated preclinical course for the entire second-year class; he also serves as the course director for the gastroenterology module. He serves on the school’s Medical Education Committee, the governing body at BUSM for curriculum and educational planning and oversight. He is active in curriculum development for medical students, house officers, and fellows and is particularly involved in the teaching of clinical reasoning skills and the fostering of professionalism among medical trainees.   Dr. Lowe is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and was recently designated one of the “Best of Boston” by Boston magazine. He is the author of numerous book chapters and review articles, and he is co-editor of the Educational Review Manual in Gastroenterology. For the past 4 years, he has served as the chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee of the American Liver Foundation, New England Chapter, and he serves as a member of the AGA Education and Training Committee, which began in June 2011.   Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc is Professor of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is also Clinical Director in the Section of Gastroenterology and Co-Director of the Center for Digestive Disorders at Boston Medical Center. After graduating from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Dr. Farraye earned his medical doctorate from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York and his master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He completed an internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.   Dr. Farraye’s clinical interests are in the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the management of colon polyps and colorectal cancer. He is studying vitamin D absorption in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the management and diagnosis of dysplasia and cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and predictors of pouch complications after ileal pouch anal anastomosis. In the area of colorectal cancer, he is examining the role of hyperplastic polyps as an alternative pathway in the development of colorectal cancer. A frequent speaker and invited lecturer on topics on the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease, Dr. Farraye has authored or co-authored more than 250 original scientific manuscripts, chapters, reviews, and abstracts. He is co-editor of the text Bariatric Surgery: A Primer for Your Medical Practice; associate editor for Therapy for Digestive Disorders; series editor for Curbside Consultation in Gastroenterology; and coeditor of the text Curbside Consultation in IBD. His most recent book for patients is Questions and Answers About Ulcerative Colitis.   Dr. Farraye is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). He has served as the AGA representative on the National Colorectal Cancer Round Table, chair of the lower gastrointestinal disorders section of the Annual Scientific Program Committee of the ASGE, and a member of the ASGE Technology Committee. Nationally, he is a member of the Board of Trustees in the ACG, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), Professional Education Committee and the Chapter Medical Advisory Committee for the New England CCFA, as well as a past chairman. The New England CCFA named Dr. Farraye Humanitarian of the Year in 2003. He was the 2009 recipient of the ACG William Carey Award for service to the college. Dr. Farraye was listed as a “Best of Boston” gastroenterologist in 2010.