ABSTRACT
Inflammatory bowel disease represents a cluster of chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine. Individual cases are classified into either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease by established clinical and pathological criteria (1,2). Those patients who cannot be allocated are temporarily grouped as indeterminate colitis until one or the other clinical phenotype becomes apparent. Most patients get diagnosed in their third decade of life. The growing frequency of Crohn’s disease in children in recent years is not well understood. It is more
likely that this is due to earlier and stronger exposure to environmental factors rather than to genetic anticipation (3). Symptoms typically include recurrent episodes of diarrhea, diffuse or crampy abdominal pain, arthralgia, and fever. Blood tests may show an increase in C-reactive protein, leukocytes, and platelets and a decrease in erythrocytes and hemoglobin.
