Lower Risk of Surgery Than Thought for Kids With Crohns (HealthDay)

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.