Timmer A, Behrens R, Buderus S et al.; CEDATA-GPGE Study Group. J Pediatr 2011;158:467–73.e2.
In this study, Timmer et al. evaluated a large contemporary cohort of pediatric IBD patients in order to determine predictive factors for a delayed diagnosis of IBD. The major predictive factors identified and confirmed in a multivariate analysis were type of IBD and age at diagnosis. Specifically, small-bowel Crohn’s disease (compared with colonic disease), and a very young age (<6 years), were associated with a longer time to diagnosis. The main consequence of a delayed diagnosis was an inverse relationship between time to diagnosis and the frequency of growth failure.
As the incidence of pediatric IBD continues to rise worldwide, the need for rapid and effective diagnosis remains paramount. It is important to understand any factors that may be associated with a delay in diagnosis, in order to prevent patient morbidity (particularly lost schooling in this age group) as well as disease-related complications (which, especially in children, relate to growth problems).