Glucocorticoids in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Children with moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are treated with systemic glucocorticoids (GCs). The majority of the patients respond to the given treatment; however, steroid resistance and dependency are significant clinical problems. Also therapy-related side effects limit the use of GCs in the control of active inflammation. This review summarizes recent knowledge of GC treatment in pediatric patients with IBD.

Key Words::

• children
• Crohn's disease
• steroid
• ulcerative colitis

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.