Clinical presentations of inflammatory bowel disease (I.B.D.) Among children at king hussein medical center (K.H.M.C.) in amman/jordan

Objectives: to describe the clinical presentations of i.b.d. in the jordanian pediatric age group at k.h.m.c. methods: specially designed medical record abstract forms were filled with data collected from 36 patients presented to the pediatric gastroenterology clinic,between august 2005 and september 2011 at khmc-amman/jordan. they were all diagnosed to have i.b.d (crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis). full detailed medical history,proper clinical examination,laboratory tests and histopathologic results were collected for all these patients. all underwent upper endoscopy and colonoscopy,in addition to barium studies,thrombophilia screen and dexa scan. results: a total of 36 patients were diagnosed to have i.b.d..the age range was between 12 months and 14 years. the mean age was 8 years. the male to female ratio was 0.8:1 (45% were males). ulcerative colitis was found to be more common in our study (51.6%). the most presenting symptoms were abdominal pain,weight loss and bloody diarrhea,respectively. on the other hand,the most common clinical finding was delayed growth parameters. delayed bone age and osteoporosis were strikingly high in our study,and colonoscopic positive findings were found in 32 patients (88%). conclusion: the inflammatory bowel disease (i.b.d.) usually considered uncommon in young children in our country in now being described increasingly in this age group. a female predominance was notices with abdominal pain,weight loss and bloody diarrhea being the most common presenting symptoms. the most common clinical extra-intestinal finding was delayed growth..