P1188 INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IN CHILDREN IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abstract

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occur frequently in the paediatric age group in the western countries. No data available about the prevelance of both ulcerative colitis(UC) or crohn’s disease(CD) among children in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: Aim: To describe the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of diagnosed paediatric cases with IBD in Dubai-UAE. Method: The medical files of 12 patients with IBD diagnosed during the period between October 1996 and February 2004 were reviewed retrospectively. The cases were followed up in pediatric gastroenterology unit in Dubai Hospital- Dubai. Results: Ulcerative colitis was diagnosed in 8 patients (66.6%), CD in 3 patients (25%) and one patient had indeterminate colitis (IC). Five of 12 patients were male (41.6%), 3 had UC, one with CD and one had IC, 7 were female (58.3%), five of them had UC and the other two had CD. Among the 12 patient 3 were UAE national (25%), 7 were Arabs (non UAE) (58.3%) and the remaining two were Indians (16.6%). The mean age at diagnosis for IBD was 6.5 years. The mean age of UC was 4.5 years and for CD was 10 years. The mean time between the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms and the date of diagnosis for IBD was 12.3 months, for UC was 13.5 months and for CD 12 months. The most common clinical symptoms in UC were diarrhea and rectal bleeding, as all the 8 children presented with above symptoms, whereas abdominal pain was more common in CD. Weight loss was noticed in 3 children (37.3%) with UC and in 2 children (66.6%) with CD. Conclusion: IBD does occur among pediatric population in UAE and the awareness of general practitioners and paediatricians about its existence is important to avoid the delay in referring the cases to the gastroenterology unit and subsequent late diagnosis.