The coordination of smooth muscle and nerve function in the gastrointestinal tract is crucial for digestion and waste disposal. Disorders in this process can lead to chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO), a severe condition where the intestines fail to propel contents. Managing CIPO involves improving intestinal motility, maintaining nutrition, treating complications, managing exacerbations, and carefully considering invasive procedures. This article focuses on common mistakes in CIPO diagnosis and management, offering evidence-based insights and clinical experience.

Ostomy management refers to the care and maintenance of an ostomy and involves various aspects to ensure the individual’s health, comfort, and quality of life. This should involve the patient, a close support system (family and/or friends), and a healthcare team, including ostomy nurses and healthcare professionals specialising in ostomy care.

Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) is a common yet frequently under-recognised cause of maldigestion, malabsorption, and malnutrition. Although traditionally associated with primary pancreatic disorders such as chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, pancreatic cancer, or pancreatic surgery, it is now evident that PEI also occurs in a wide range of extra-pancreatic conditions and clinical settings. Advances in diagnostic testing and expanding clinical awareness have improved detection; however, significant misconceptions persist regarding when to suspect PEI; how to interpret diagnostic tests; and how to initiate, optimise, and monitor pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). In everyday practice, these errors may lead to delayed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, persistent symptoms, and preventable nutritional deficiencies. This “Mistakes in…” article highlights common pitfalls in the diagnosis and management of PEI, focusing on inappropriate reliance on faecal elastase testing, failure to recognise secondary causes, undertreatment with PERT, and inadequate nutritional assessment. By addressing these frequent mistakes, we aim to promote a more structured, patient-centred, and evidence-informed approach to PEI that improves clinical outcomes and quality of life.

Adequate nutrition is essential for the homeostasis of fluids and nutrients, growth and thriving, especially in children. While the underlying principle of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement is the same for both adults and children—providing a means of enteral feeding through the stomach—the indications, considerations and techniques differ owing to anatomical differences, age-dependent physiological concerns, and the age- and disease-specific needs of the child.

If feeding via nasogastric tube (NGT) or naso-jejunal tube (NJT) is necessary for a prolonged time, placement of a PEG or percutaneous endoscopic gastro-jejunal (PEG-J) tube should be considered. A PEG tube also allows the delivery of medications and venting of the stomach when needed. Nutrition via PEG facilitates the transition to out-of-hospital care and improves the quality of life (QoL) for children and families while improving the outcome of children with chronic diseases.

There are recent clinical guidelines providing guidance for PEG tube placement in children, but little advice on, e.g., choosing the right device for the right patient, details on postoperative management, removal of the PEG tube and other specific cases. The following article provides a combination of evidence-based data and the authors’ clinical experience.

Chronic gastritis is a common condition that occurs when an inflammatory infiltrate is present in the gastric mucosa. Diverse factors can cause such inflammation to develop, including food, common bacteria (particularly Helicobacter pylori) and even some viruses. Although the inflammatory infiltrate itself may not cause a disease per se, in some cases gastritis will evolve into atrophic gastritis, ulcers or gastric cancer. Clinicians therefore need to be aware of when gastritis is a harmless condition that can be left alone and when further action is required. In addition, many patients and some clinicians use the term ‘chronic gastritis’ to describe symptoms, mostly those of dyspepsia. This misuse of the terminology can lead to the erroneous conclusion that a diagnosis is being discussed and not a symptom. Here we address these mistakes and some of the others that are frequently made when managing patients with chronic gastritis. We discuss how to avoid making the mistakes to ensure that patients are managed adequately while reducing over treatment.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains an important global health concern. It is estimated that there are approximately 50 million people infected with HCV globally, with around 1 million new infections each year and about 242,000 deaths annually attributed to HCV-related complications. Most acute HCV infections (55–85%) become chronic due to the virus’s effective evasion strategies, with spontaneous clearance being rare once chronicity is established. This condition often progresses silently, with many individuals unaware of their infection until advanced liver damage has occurred. If left untreated, HCV can lead to severe complications, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCV transmission occurs mainly through percutaneous exposure to infected blood. HCV can also spread from mother to infant (vertical transmission) and, less frequently, via sexual contact.1,2 In recent years, the introduction of oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), with remarkable safety and effectiveness profiles, has led to a sustained virological response (SVR) in virtually all (>97%) HCV-infected patients, regardless of HCV genotype or disease stage. However, significant barriers remain, such as issues with diagnosis, access to treatment and awareness of the disease.

Here, we discuss some of the misconceptions in HCV management and provide a practical management approach grounded in evidence and clinical experience.