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Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Context:
The increasing prevalence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in India.
More on News:
- As per the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimate, the number of IBD patients increased from 1.3 lakhs in 1990 to 2.7 lakhs in 2019 in India.
- Nearly 25% of all patients with IBD fall in the paediatric age group.
- Earlier mostly prevalent in Western countries now increasing in South Asian countries too.
About Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD):
- IBD is a term for two conditions (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
- IBD causes chronic inflammation (pain and swelling) in the intestines.
- The Prolonged inflammation results in damage to the GI tract.
- IBD is a chronic autoimmune condition where the white blood cells mistakenly identify cells in the human gut as their enemy and decide to attack it, causing ulcers in the mucosa.
Terms
- Human Gut: It lies inside the intestines populated by trillions of microscopic organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. It plays an active role in keeping the body healthy.
- Gastrointestinal(GI) tract: The digestive system is made up of the GI tract.
- It is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus.
- Organs that make up the GI tract are the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus.
About Ulcerative Colitis & Crohn’s Disease:
Symptoms of IBD:
- Fever, Abdominal pain, Loose stools, Bloody diarrhoea, Weight loss, Muscle mass, Anaemic.
Causes of IBD:
- A weak or dysregulated immune system is prone to virus or bacteria attack, which causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Genetic factors
Diagnosis:
- Medications:
- IBD – Crohn’s disease: Include steroids and drugs called biologics.
- IBD – Ulcerative colitis: Drugs called Aminosalicylates.
- Control the inflammation in the gut and heal ulcers using Exclusive Enteral Nutrition(EEN).
- EEN involves the use of a nutritionally complete liquid diet given exclusively instead of usual solids.