Another milestone for this blog: since 2012, the blog has been publicized on twitter; this is the 1000th tweet. It is also 1314th blog post over nearly 4 years.

A recent study (H Singh et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2015; 13: 1302-09) indicates that children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were more likely to have gastrointestinal symptoms in each of the 4 years before the diagnosis of IBD than children without IBD.

In this study, the researchers identified all children with IBD from a population-based Manitoba database; Manitoba had a population of 1.27 million in 2012.  651 children were matched with 5950 controls without IBD.  The study’s Table 1 & 2 indicates that children with IBD had increased clinic visits prior to diagnosis:

• 54-66 months prior: standardized rate ratio for number of ambulatory visits 1.15; & for ≥1 visit due to GI symptoms odds ratio 1.44
• 42-54 months prior: standardized rate ratio for number of ambulatory visits  1.22; & for ≥1 visit due to GI symptoms odds ratio 2.05
• 30-42 months prior: standardized rate ratiofor number of ambulatory visits 1.19; & for ≥1 visit due to GI symptoms odds ratio 2.16
• 18-30 months prior: standardized rate ratio for number of ambulatory visits 1.23; & for ≥1 visit due to GI symptoms odds ratio 2.93
• 6-18 months prior: standardized rate ratio for number of ambulatory visits  1.15; & for ≥1 visit due to GI symptoms odds ratio 5.23

There was not a clear trend in increased symptoms between those who developed Crohn’s disease compared with Ulcerative Colitis. In addition, the study noted a trend towards decreased colectomy and resective surgery in Crohn’s in the time period 2002-2010 compared with 1987-2001.  One limitation of this study is the few number of pediatric gastroenterologists in Manitoba (only 1 before 2003); the lack of pediatric gastroenterology availability could impact timely diagnosis.

My take: This data shows that GI symptoms still predate diagnosis in many children and indicate a potential for diagnosis delay. The authors note that noninvasive tools like stool calprotectin have not been widely adopted (at least in Manitoba) and could be helpful in reducing diagnostic delays.

Estes Park, Colorado