Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease in Greece: 30-years experience of a single center
(EN)
Lagona, Evagelia
Orfanou, Irini
Chouliaras, Georgios
Stefanaki, Kalliopi
Roma-Giannikou, Eleftheria
Dimakou, Konstantina
Panayotou, Ioanna
Pachoula, Ioanna
Background Significant advances have been made in the care of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to describe the trends during the last 3 decades in the clinical presentation, management, and outcome of pediatric IBD at a single center.Methods Medical records of children with IBD referred to a pediatric gastroenterology unit from January 1981 to December 2011 were reviewed retrospectively.Results A total of 483 children were diagnosed with IBD, with mean age at diagnosis of 9.6 years (range 6 months - 18 years). Ulcerative colitis (UC) was diagnosed in 267 (55.2%), Crohn's disease (CD) in 167 (34.5%), and IBD unclassified (IBDU) in 49 (10.1%). Children with UC and IBDU were younger than those with CD [mean age at diagnosis 9.2, 8.9, and 10.5 years respectively; P (UC vs. CD)<0.01 and P (IBDU vs. CD)=0.028]. Patients received 5-ASA (96.6%), steroids (77.0%), thiopurines (50.2%), biological agents (14%), and 10% underwent surgical intervention. The cohort was divided into three subgroups according to the date of diagnosis; Group A: 1981‑1989, Group B: 1990-1999, and Group C: 2000-2011. During the last two decades a significant increase in CD (Group A 18.5%, Group B 23.8%, Group C 48.8%; P<0.01) compared with the first decade with parallel decrease in UC (Group A 79.6%, Group B 71.9%, Group C 33.2%; P<0.001) was observed.Conclusions Most children received 5-ASA, steroids, and immunomodulators. Patients with UC and IBDU were younger than those with CD. A significant increase in CD with parallel decrease in UC during the last decade was found.Keywords Ιnflammatory bowel disease, children, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, unclassified IBD, treatmentAnn Gastroenterol 2015; 28 (1): 81-86
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