Progress in the treatment and outcome of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease patients.
The number of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), namely Crohn´s disease, ulcerative colitis and unclassified colitis, has rapidly increased in Western countries. Areas covered: This review discusses how the treatment of pediatric IBD patients has improved,with attention given to therapeutic quality and cost. The literature search covers Medline-PubMed and the Cochrane Library, with February 2016 as the last search dates. Similarly to what has been the trend in the management of adult IBD, pediatric IBD therapy has become more active than before. High use of immunosuppressants and the availability of biological therapeutic agents has helped to control the extensive and aggressive course of pediatric IBD. Full disease control at an early phase has advantages such as preserving normal child growth and development, maintaining overall good health and quality of life, as well as decreasing the psychosocial burden of the disease. Expert commentary: A key research direction is to tailor treatment modalities according to anticipated individual phenotype and disease course. Another is to reduce healthcare costs by decreasing the so-far high rate of surgery of pediatric IBD patients, and, instead, to develop a more active approach to treatment than before.
a Children´s Hospital , Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
Kaija-Leena
KL
Kolho
b Science Park , University of Borås, Sweden , Borås , Sweden.|c Aalto University School of Business , Helsinki , Finland.
Antti
A
Ainamo
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009629:Person-Centered Psychotherapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex
Calprotectin; Crohn´s disease; children; colitis ulcerative; cost of care; fecal markers; growth; management