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Natural History of Ulcerative Colitis in Children

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Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Abstract

Defining the natural history of a chronic disease is made difficult by the continuously changing landscape of available therapies, earlier recognition of disease by more sensitive diagnostic techniques, and changes in intrinsic biological behavior. The natural history of ulcerative colitis following therapy with aminosalicylates and corticosteroids from previous decades would be expected to differ from that following the current and increasingly widespread use of immunomodulators and biological therapy. The data presented in this chapter reflect what we know of natural history now and will likely be different than what we might describe 10 years from now. There are a number of aspects of ulcerative colitis whose natural history can be examined, including clinical indices, endoscopic measures, extraintestinal manifestations, and therapy changes. This chapter will focus on natural history elements pertaining to clinical remission, endoscopic remission, and colectomy. Discussion of drugs will mostly focus mainly on maintenance of remission. Lastly, possible methodology to predict response to therapy and alter natural history will be addressed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT, 06106, USA

    Peter Townsend MD & Jeffrey S. Hyams MD

  2. University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA

    Peter Townsend MD & Jeffrey S. Hyams MD

Authors
  1. Peter Townsend MD
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  2. Jeffrey S. Hyams MD
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Correspondence to Jeffrey S. Hyams MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of GI, Hepatology & Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Petar Mamula

  2. Division of GI, Hepatology & Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Andrew B. Grossman

  3. Division of GI, Hepatology & Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Robert N. Baldassano

  4. Division of GI, Hepatology & Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Judith R. Kelsen

  5. Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

    Jonathan E. Markowitz

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Townsend, P., Hyams, J.S. (2017). Natural History of Ulcerative Colitis in Children. In: Mamula, P., Grossman, A., Baldassano, R., Kelsen, J., Markowitz, J. (eds) Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49215-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49215-5_8

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