Short-Term Efficacy of Exclusive Enteral Nutrition in Pediatric Crohn's Disease: Practice in China

Aims. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) and corticosteroids in inducing remission in pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) and the effects of the treatment on growth improvements. Methods. Data was retrospectively collected for children and adolescents newly diagnosed with CD in a referral center. Patients who were followed up for more than 2 months with mild to moderate disease were included. Basic demographics, history, physical examination, the pediatric Crohn disease activity index (PCDAI), laboratory findings, endoscopic findings, and adverse effects were recorded. Remission was defined as PCDAI < 10 points. Results. Ten subjects received EEN and 18 patients received corticosteroids. The median follow-up in EEN group and steroid group was 9.2 weeks and 9.6 weeks, respectively. The remission rate in EEN group was significantly higher than that in steroid group (90.0% versus 50.0%, resp., P < 0.05). Growth improvement, which was evaluated by changes in height for age z-score, was more apparent in EEN group than that in steroids group (P < 0.05). No adverse effects were observed in EEN group. Conclusions. In children with mild to moderate CD, EEN is more effective than corticosteroids in improving disease severity and growth deficiency, as well as providing less side effects.