• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2015

Crohn's disease is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory disease of the intestines characterized by frequent relapse and remission. It often develops in children and adolescents, who are vulnerable to repeated exposure to ionizing radiations. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) is an increasingly important radiation-free imaging modality that is used to evaluate pediatric patients with Crohn's disease. MRE can evaluate extraluminal and extraintestinal abnormalities as well as the status of the bowel wall. In addition, MRE has an advantage in the evaluation of the small bowel involvement. MRE can be used for the initial diagnosis of Crohn's disease, and can aid in the assessment of disease activity and complications such as penetrating and fibrostenotic diseases. The aims of this article are to review the MRE technique for obtaining diagnostic and high-quality images and to discuss interpretations of imaging findings in patients with Crohn's disease.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.830-833
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• 2010

Crohn's disease is characterized by chronic inflammation involving any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Treating Crohn's disease is a major challenge for clinicians, as no curative therapy currently exists. Pediatric Crohn's disease is characterized by frequent relapses, a wide extent of disease, a high prevalence of extraintestinal manifestations, and a severe clinical course. The classic therapeutic approach is known as the 'step-up' strategy, and follows a progressive course of treatment intensification as disease severity increases. Although this approach is usually effective for symptom control, many patients become either resistant to or dependent on corticosteroids. The efficacy of infliximab suggests that, rather than a progressive course of treatment, early intense induction may reduce complications associated with conventional treatment and improve quality of life. Intensive early therapy with infliximab is known as the 'top-down' strategy. Such therapy offers the potential for altering the natural history of Crohn's disease, and is changing treatment paradigms. However, the relatively new concept of an early aggressive or 'top-down' treatment approach is not yet widely accepted, especially in pediatric patients. The results of our current study demonstrate that early and intensive treatment of pediatric Crohn's disease patients with infliximab, at initial diagnosis, was more effective for maintaining remission and reducing flares.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2008

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that mainly affects children and young adults. Its cause remains unknown. The incidence of pediatric Crohn's disease is increasing, so it is important for clinicians to be aware of the presentation of this disease in the pediatric population. The majority of patients complain of abdominal pain (72%), with only 25% presenting with the 'classical triad' of abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhea. Many children with Crohn's disease present in a 'non-classical' manner, with vague complaints such as lethargy or anorexia, which may be associated with only mild abdominal discomfort. Other symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, growth retardation, malnutrition, delayed puberty, psychiatric symptoms, arthropathy, and erythema nodosum. Severe constipation and abdominal distension are uncommon symptoms at diagnosis. We report a case of pediatric Crohn's disease, which was diagnosed after the patient presented with severe constipation and abdominal distension.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-22
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• 2012

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract and characterized by relapsing and remitting episodes, with progression over time to complications of stricture, fistulas, or abscesses. The etiology is unknown, although the common opinion is that the disease arises from a disordered immune response to the gut contents in genetically predisposed individuals. Infliximab is a mouse-human chimeric antibody against tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$, and has proven to be effective in active Crohn's disease for both induction and maintenance therapy. Despite the growing experience with infliximab in Crohn's disease, optimal treatment strategies still need to be determined. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the use of infliximab in Crohn's disease and to discuss the yet-unsolved issues.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2018

The emergence of mucosal healing as a treatment goal that could modify the natural course of Crohn's disease and the accumulating evidence showing that biologics are most effective in achieving mucosal healing, along with the success of early treatment regimens for rheumatoid arthritis, have led to the identification of early Crohn's disease and development of the concept of catching the therapeutic window during the early disease course. Thus, an increasing number of pediatric gastroenterologists are adopting an early biologic treatment strategy with or without an immunomodulator. Although early biologic treatment is effective, cost and overtreatment are issues that limit its early use. Currently, there are insufficient data on who will benefit most from early biologics, as well as on who will not need early or even any biologics. For now, top-down biologics should be considered for patients with currently known high-risk factors of poor outcomes. For other patients, close, objective monitoring and accelerating the step-up process by means of a treat-to-target approach seems the best way to catch the therapeutic window in early pediatric Crohn's disease. The individual benefits of immunomodulator addition during early biologic treatment should be weighed against its risks and decision on early combination treatment should be made after comprehensive discussion with each patient and guardian.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.90-97
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• 2019

Crohn disease has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and rarely can present with complications such as a bowel stricture or fistula. In this case report, we describe a 17-year-old male who presented with a history of recurrent anterior abdominal wall abscesses and dysuria. He was diagnosed with Crohn disease and also found to have a fistulous communication between the terminal ileum and a patent urachus. An ileocecectomy with primary anastomosis and complete resection of the abscess cavity was performed. He is on azathioprine for maintenance therapy and currently in remission. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for this complication in Crohn disease patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of urachal anomalies such as suprapubic abdominal pain, dysuria, umbilical discharge, and periumbilical mass.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2017

Pediatric onset Crohn's disease (CD) tends to have complicated behavior (stricture or penetration) than elderly onset CD at diagnosis. Considering the longer duration of the disease in pediatric patients, the accumulative chance of surgical treatment is higher than in adult onset CD patients. Possible operative indications include perianal CD, intestinal stricture or obstruction, abdominal abscess or fistula, intestinal hemorrhage, neoplastic changes and medically untreatable inflammation. Growth retardation is an operative indication only for pediatric patients. Surgery can affect a patient's clinical course, especially for pediatric CD patient who are growing physically and mentally, so the decision should be made by careful consideration of several factors. The complex and diverse clinical conditions hinder development of a systemized treatment algorithm. Therefore, timing of surgery in pediatric CD patients should be determined with individualized approach by an experienced and well organized multidisciplinary inflammatory bowel disease team. Best long-term outcomes will require proactive post-operative monitoring and therapeutic modifications according to the conditions.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2005

Crohn's disease of the perineum is notably resistant to treatment. We describe our experiences of tacrolimus ointment application in three patients with intractable perianal Crohn's disease. At the time of diagnosis patients showed anal fissure with ulcer, anal fistula, or perianal abscess, respectively. These lesions did not respond to steroid, metronidazole, mesalazine, or azathioprine, though the pediatric Crohn's disease activity index was markedly improved during the treatment period (4 to 12 months). Topical tacrolimus was applied and resulted in marked healing and a rapid granulation of cavity edges within 6 weeks to 3 months. Topical tacrolimus at a low dose shows a promise for the management of childhood perianal Crohn's disease. Further controlled studies are required to assess the efficacy and safety of this treatment.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2013

In Crohn's disease, mild gastrointestinal bleeding often occurs; however massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage, which can have a dramatic effect on a patient's vital sign, is rare. This could result in potentially life-threatening complications, which can lead to death. Massive hemorrhagic Crohn's disease is not well known and for this reason, they are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Various diagnostic and therapeutic methods are currently being developed and used. The surgical method is often used only as a last measure since this approach has the risk of serious complications that may endanger patients. However, if massive bleeding continues even after all therapeutic methods are used, the surgical method must be implemented. In this case, all therapeutic methods were found to be ineffective; therefore, surgery was used as a last option. Ultimately, the surgical method was found to be successfully used to treat life-threatening hemorrhagic Crohn's disease.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.853-862
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• 2021

Objectives: This case study examined the effectiveness of Korean medical treatment for pediatric Crohn's disease. Methods: A 15-year-old female Korean patient with Crohn's disease received acupuncture, electroacupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, and aromatherapy treatment for 1 month in a hospital. Results: Decreases in the Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index score (from 22.5 to 7.5) and the size of two abscesses (from 39.97 mm to 33.36 mm, and from 28.14 mm to 18.71 mm) according to an abdominal CT were observed following treatment. Nausea and vomiting disappeared, stool condition improved, and weight increased (from 30 kg to 33 kg) following treatment. Nausea and vomiting disappeared, stool condition improved, and weight increased (from 30 kg to 33 kg) following treatment. Conclusion: It would be worth examining the long-term effectiveness of Korean medical treatment for pediatric Crohn's disease.