Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was once highly unusual in children. But IBD in children is increasing alarmingly, especially the IBD known as Crohn’s disease (sometimes called Crohns disease). In fact, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America reports that over 100,000 American kids have IBD.
Making the problem worse is that many kids aren’t diagnosed promptly, but rather their ailments are mistaken for common gastrointestinal problems during repeated visits to their primary-care physician, according to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center of Baltimore, MD. It’s only after long delays that many children have their IBD identified by an expert gastroenterologist from Johns Hopkins or elsewhere.
According to a news release from Johns Hopkins, IBD is “still considered an adult condition and is rarely on pediatricians' radars," says Maria Oliva-Hemker, M.D., chief of the Gastroenterology & Nutrition division at Hopkins Children's and director of its comprehensive IBD center.
"Fifty years ago, IBD was almost exclusively diagnosed in adults,” she says. “These days, treating children with IBD is business as usual in our clinics."
Besides Crohn's disease, another IBD is ulcerative colitis. Also known as UC, it tends to be identified earlier, since it’s often evidenced by bloody stools. With Crohn’s disease, vague abdominal pain is a common symptom, and diagnostic mistakes are made.
But why are such IBDs increasing among children? Experts aren’t sure. But they believe environmental factors may be to blame.
As for which factors those might be, consider that many young Americans have taken powerful acne drug Accutane to treat cases of severe acne. This potent drug, featuring Isotretinoin, can combat and even conquer acne. But it’s also known to trigger IBD injuries such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. And as many as 5 million Americans have taken it.
Among youths diagnosed with IBDs, Johns Hopkins says teens and school-age children are usually the ones. Teens, of course, are more likely than adults to have taken the prescription acne medicine Accutane, or perhaps generic Accutane products known as Amnesteem, Sotret and Claravis.
IBD is serious. It can cause extreme anemia due to poor food absorption, malnutrition and gastrointestinal bleeding. It even can lead to surgical mandates for the colon or small intestine, including their removal.
If someone in your family suffers an IBD such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and if that person took acne drug Accutane or generic Accutane, alert the national attorney service of Accutane Lawsuit Lawyer.com. It can provide you with an experienced defective drug lawyer in your state to press an Accutane lawsuit seeking financial recovery for the injury, including compensation for your medical bills.
The negligent manufacturer of Accutane, Swiss-based Hoffman-La Roche, has made billions of dollars in profits selling its defective drug. Now Roche must pay -- and your Accutane lawyer can make sure that it does.