In this educational webinar, Professor Valeria Cento, Director of the Medical Specialty School of Microbiology and Virology, Humanitas University, will focus on the application of diagnostic stewardship principles in the evaluation and management of patients presenting with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The session will address the growing clinical and operational challenges associated with GI diagnostics, including diagnostic uncertainty, variability in testing practices, delayed or incomplete results, and the downstream impact of inappropriate testing on patient management, antimicrobial use, and healthcare resources.
By examining current diagnostic pathways and emerging syndromic testing approaches, the webinar aims to support clinicians in making timely, evidence-based diagnostic decisions that align with best practice and improve patient care.
Key themes
- Diagnostic stewardship in GI care
- The session will review the core principles of diagnostic stewardship and their relevance to GI investigation. Explore how appropriate test selection, timing, and interpretation can reduce unnecessary testing while ensuring clinically meaningful results that inform patient management.
- Clinical decision-making in patients with GI symptoms
- Discover common clinical scenarios encountered in acute and inpatient settings, highlighting the challenges clinicians face when evaluating patients with diarrhea, abdominal symptoms, or suspected infectious gastroenteritis. Emphasis will be placed on balancing speed, accuracy, and clinical relevance.
- Role of syndromic GI testing
- Understand how syndromic GI panels may fit into established diagnostic pathways. Discussion will focus on potential advantages such as broader pathogen coverage, faster time to results, and improved diagnostic confidence, as well as considerations for appropriate use within stewardship frameworks.
- Impact on patient management
- Explore how optimized diagnostic strategies can influence downstream clinical decisions, including isolation practices, antimicrobial therapy, and escalation or de-escalation of care.
- Integration into existing workflows
- Finally, understand practical considerations for integrating advanced GI diagnostics into routine clinical and laboratory workflows, with attention given to the collaboration between clinicians, microbiology laboratories, infection prevention teams, and antimicrobial stewardship programs.
Certificate of attendance and IBMS CPD
All webinar participants can request a certificate of attendance, including a learning outcomes summary, for continuing education purposes. This webinar is suitable for IBMS and HCPC self-certification CPD portfolios.Webinar details
- Cost: Free to attend
- Location: Online
- Duration: 60 minutes. If you register but can’t attend live, you will receive a link to the on-demand recording once it becomes available.
- Multilingual captions: This webinar supports live captions and subtitles in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Simply click the “CC” button within the webinar interface to turn captions on or off.
Key learning objectives:
Following this webinar, you will be able to:- Describe the principles of diagnostic stewardship and their application to the evaluation of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Identify appropriate clinical scenarios for the use of syndromic GI testing within established diagnostic pathways.
- Discuss how to apply evidence-based diagnostic strategies to improve clinical decision making and downstream patient management.
Who should attend?
This event is ideal for gastroenterologists, infectious disease specialists, clinical microbiologists and laboratory directors, infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals, antimicrobial stewardship leads, acute care and internal medicine physicians, pathologists, clinicians, point-of-care (POC) managers, nurses, bed managers, and procurement managers.Presenters
Professor Valeria Cento
President of BSc in Biomedical Laboratory Techniques, Director of the Medical Specialty School of Microbiology and Virology, Humanitas University
Current Position
Prof. Valeria Cento is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy. She is the Director of the Operative Unit of Microbiology and Virology at IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital.
At the academic level, she is the Director of the Postgraduate Residency Program in Microbiology and Virology, and the President of the Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Laboratory Techniques.
Education
- 2011–2017: Degree in Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
- 2008–2011: PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
- 2006–2008: Second-level degree in Medical Biotechnologies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
- 2003–2006: First-level degree in Biotechnologies, University of Siena
Academic and Research Career
- Since 2021: Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University
- Since 2021: Scientific Director of the Microbiology Laboratory, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital
- 2020–2021: Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan
- 2012–2018: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
Research Interests
Prof. Cento’s research focuses on clinical and translational microbiology, with particular emphasis on:
- Genetic characterization of bacteria and human viruses
- Molecular diagnostics and antimicrobial susceptibility
- Mechanisms of drug resistance and immune escape in chronic and acute viral infections
- Contributions to national and international studies on SARS-CoV-2, HIV, and hepatitis viruses
Lucy Lawrence
Science Editor
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