Inflammatory bowel disease in neonates：report of seven cases / 中华围产医学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in neonates.MethodsFrom July 2010 to July 2015, seven neonates were diagnosed with IBD in Affiliated BaYi Children's Hospital, Clinical Medical College in Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Southern Medical University. The data regarding these neonatal cases were analyzed and compared with 45 children with IBD from literature. Thet-test andChi-square test were used for statistical analysis of the data.ResultsSix cases had ulcerative colitis, and one case had Crohn's disease, both occurred 2-20 days after birth, and were characterized by diarrhea, no increase in body weight, anemia and intermittent higher hypersensitive C-reactive protein. Compared with IBD in children, abdominal pain and abdominal mass were rarer, while anemia was more common in neonatal IBD. All fecal cultures and blood cultures in the seven cases of neonatal IBD were negative. Abdominal X-ray revealed intestinal wall thickening in four cases. Multiple ulcers were observed from the cecum to the rectum by colonoscopy. Chronic intestinal mucosal inflammation associated with acute inflammation were found on pathological examination. Six infants received treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid (combined with glucocorticoid in four cases), and one received glucocorticoid treatment only. One infant was started on infliximab treatment from two years old. One of these seven cases died one month after discharge due to refusal to continue treatment, and the disease was controlled in the other six cases. After treatment, one infant was lost to follow-up six months after discharge, two were cured at six and 12 months old without further treatment, and three improved and continued treatment.ConclusionsIn neonates with diarrhea, anemia and no increase in body weight, especially when antibiotic treatment is ineffective, colonoscopy should be performed to facilitate early diagnosis of IBD. Standard treatments result in good outcomes.