ABSTRACT
Inflammatory bowel disease is uncommon in childhood and usually presents in late childhood or adolescence. Crohn’s disease is more common than ulcerative colitis (UC) and there is often delay in diagnosis due to the non-specific nature of the initial symptoms (e.g. recurrent abdominal pain, weight loss, growth failure). Simple screening blood tests such as full blood count, albumin and inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR) may help identify those who require further investigation. UC usually presents with bloody diarrhoea or rectal bleeding due to proctosigmoiditis. Infective causes of acute or chronic colitis should be excluded. Colitis does occur in infancy and early childhood but is now thought to be more often due to food allergy (particularly cow’s milk intolerance) than true inflammatory bowel disease. Treatment is with dietary exclusion and the intolerance usually resolves with time.
