Laboratory values for children with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to determine how often common laboratory tests yield normal results at the time of diagnosis for children with inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS: Data were obtained from a registry of children with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease who were enrolled prospectively in 18 US/Canadian centers. Laboratory values investigated included hemoglobin level, platelet count, albumin level, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Disease severity was categorized by physician global assessment. RESULTS: A total of 526 children (mean age: 11.6 years; 58% male; 392 with Crohn disease and 134 with ulcerative colitis) were studied. All 4 values were normal for 21% of patients with mild Crohn disease and 54% with mild ulcerative colitis. In contrast, only 3.8% of children with moderate/severe Crohn disease and 4.3% with moderate/severe ulcerative colitis had normal results for all 4 tests. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was least likely to be normal; overall, 26% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease had a normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate, including 18% with moderate/severe disease. Hemoglobin levels were normal for 32%, platelet counts for 50%, and albumin levels for 60%. There was no clear association between Crohn disease location and either severity or number of normal laboratory values. In contrast, there were direct correlations between ulcerative colitis disease severity and both the extent of bowel inflammation and the number of abnormal laboratory tests. CONCLUSION: The presence of normal screening laboratory studies should not dissuade clinicians from considering a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.

The natural history of corticosteroid therapy for ulcerative colitis in children.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the clinical outcome after corticosteroid therapy in children who are newly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: Data were gathered prospectively from the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Collaborative Research Group Registry database between January 2002 and March 2005. All children who were newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease younger than the age of 16 years were managed according to the dictates of their respective physicians. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected at diagnosis, at 30 days, and then quarterly. Patients were classified as corticosteroid responsive, corticosteroid dependent, or refractory, and outcomes were determined at 3 months and at 1 year. RESULTS: Ninety-seven patients had a diagnosis of UC and a minimum of 1 year of follow-up evaluation; 77 (79%) received corticosteroids (62 within 30 days of diagnosis [early] and 15 between 31 days and 6 months [late]). At diagnosis, 81% of corticosteroid-treated patients (age, 11.3 +/- 3.5 y) had moderate/severe disease, and 81% had pancolitis. For those treated early with corticosteroids, disease activity at 3 months was inactive in 60%, mild in 27%, and moderate/severe in 11%. At 1 year, 31 of 62 (50%) of the early corticosteroid-treated patients were considered corticosteroid responsive and 28 (45%) were corticosteroid dependent. A total of 4 patients receiving corticosteroids (5%) required colectomy in the first year. Immunomodulators were used in 61% of all corticosteroid-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although short-term clinical response to corticosteroids in children with newly diagnosed UC is excellent, even with the common use of immunomodulators corticosteroid dependence is seen in 45% of patients.

Patterns of complementary and alternative medicine use in a population of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Complementary and alternative medicine use is prominent in the United States. The use of complementary and alternative therapies appears to be common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, but few studies have been completed in children. We sought to examine the extent that children with inflammatory bowel disease in the Greater Philadelphia area (Philadelphia County and the surrounding counties in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) use alternative therapies. We paid particular attention to the specific types of therapies used and whether certain demographic and disease associated factors influence the degree of usage. In this study, we questioned the families of all children diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease, aged 6 to 16 years and living within Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, who were followed at 1 of the 2 academic pediatric gastroenterology programs that served the area. More than 80% of surveys were returned. Fifty-one percent (95% C.I. 45% to 56%) of patients surveyed reported some form of alternative medicine use within the previous year. Univariate analysis revealed increased use among patients who had Crohn disease, who used the Internet for research on their disease, who reported poor quality of life and had increased school absences in the past year. Therapies associated with alternative medicine use included biological and immunomodulatory therapy. Regression analysis revealed positive associations between use of alternative therapies and expenditure on nonprescription treatments, poor quality of life, Internet research, and the need for calorie supplementation, whereas there was a negative association with history of prior surgery for inflammatory bowel disease.