Most patients with Crohn's disease receive a diagnosis during their 20s, but rates of pediatric Crohn's disease continue to rise. The current estimated range is between 3.5 and 13.9 incidences per 100,000 people in the U.S. and Canada. Arkansas Children's works to increase access and treatment options for these young patients.

“The key point about pediatric Crohn’s disease is that if we don’t treat it early and aggressively, children lose out on a significant amount of growth potential,” said Travis Ayers, M.D., FAAP, gastroenterologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “Children who have not yet reached puberty may end up experiencing stunted growth if they’re not diagnosed and treated quickly. Additionally, prompt treatment decreases the potential for bowel resections and for living with an ostomy, among other problems.”

Early Diagnosis Leads to Advanced Treatment

Obtaining a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease starts in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital gastroenterology laboratory.

"We specialize in the use of video capsule endoscopy, during which the patient swallows a pill containing a camera that records images as it moves through the GI tract," Dr. Ayers said. "This can help us diagnose Crohn's disease located in the small bowel, which we might not be able to reach with traditional techniques of endoscopy."

After diagnosis, patients often start a treatment of biologics, a first-line therapy for moderate to severe Crohn's disease. Providers help patients and families adopt and adjust to specialized diets that may help control Crohn's symptoms. Arkansas Children's Hospital physicians also aggressively pursue appropriate opportunities to research new treatment options.

"When needed, we may make off-label use of a number of secondary, often newer, medications that don't have pediatric indications," Dr. Ayers said. "And of course, we always urge the pursuit of new clinical trials to test treatments that may help our patients."

"At Arkansas Children's Hospital, our pharmacy can readily obtain any medication we need to treat Crohn's disease," Dr. Ayers added. "Our infusion centers in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas also make it easy for patients to receive the treatments they need closer to home."

If the disease does not respond to medical management, Arkansas Children’s Hospital pediatric surgeons provide the full complement of surgeries for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — although Dr. Ayers notes that the team aims to avoid bowel resection whenever possible.

Program Growth With Stunning Success

Since 2018, the IBD program at Arkansas Children's Hospital has tripled in size, to now serve around 300 patients. During that development period, patients with pediatric Crohn's disease have had positive results above national averages as measured by ImproveCareNow (ICN), the Crohn's and ulcerative colitis collaborative. Current statistics show:

  • Crohn’s patients in clinical remission: 84.1% vs. 83.7% ICN
  • Crohn’s patients in steroid-free remission: 84% vs. 82.32% ICN
  • Crohn’s patients in sustained remission: 66.67% vs. 58.37% ICN
  • Satisfactory growth rates among all patients with IBD: 95.5% vs. 94.89% ICN

"These statistics show that patients with pediatric Crohn's disease enjoy world-class care at Arkansas Children's Hospital," Dr. Ayers said. "We stay highly involved in the national and international conversations about Crohn's disease, and our dedication to providing the newest therapies makes us truly a one-stop shop for any patient who needs pediatric IBD care."