Lower Risk of Surgery Than Thought for Kids With
Crohn's
09/03/10
FRIDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of bowel surgery
for children with Crohn's disease is much lower than reported in
previous studies, according to new findings.
Crohn's disease involves chronic inflammation of the
gastrointestinal tract. The exact cause is not known, but the
condition is often associated with an immune response problem. Some
recent studies have found that the risk of bowel surgery is as high
as 34 percent one year after diagnosis and as high as 47 percent
five years after diagnosis.
This new multi-center study included 854 children under 16 years
of age who were newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD), which consists of two main conditions: ulcerative colitis
and Crohn's disease. Over five years of follow-up, the researchers
found that the risk of bowel surgery in these children was nearly
two times lower than reported in previous studies.
However, they did find that children diagnosed with Crohn's
disease between ages 13 and 16 had an increased risk of bowel
surgery.
The researchers also found that starting treatment at diagnosis
with immunomodulator therapy -- which balances and improves the
body's immune response -- did not affect the risk of surgery.
Neither did race, gender or family history of inflammatory bowel
disease.
The study appears in the September issue of the journal
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
"Our study findings indicate that changing disease behavior over time influences the risk of surgery, and treatments focused on early intervention to alter the natural course of the disease will need to be assessed in studies that ideally involve randomized controlled trials," wrote senior author Dr. Neal LeLeiko, director of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I., and colleagues.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases has more about
Crohn's disease.
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