Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children: Diagnosis, Treatment Status and Early Recognition

Dear Colleagues,

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), are chronic immune-mediated disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. They are most often diagnosed in adolescence and young adulthood, with a rising incidence in pediatric populations worldwide, including in emerging nations. IBD continues to have a negative impact on patients’ quality of life, and the rates of complications, surgery and hospitalization remain high. Pediatric IBD comes with unique additional challenges, such as growth impairment, pubertal delay, the psychology of adolescence and the development of body image. In recent years, significant progress in treatments has profoundly changed the management of IBD in children, and changes in therapeutic strategies over the past few decades have altered the natural history of pediatric IBD. Given the progressive enrichment of therapeutic armament and the emergence of new therapeutic objectives and monitoring strategies, this Special Issue will consider early recognition and management strategies in both UC and CD in children through original research and reviews.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• IBD genetics, immunology and tolerance;
• Early recognition, diagnosis and intervention;
• The role of gut microbiota, intestinal dysbiosis and fecal transplantation;
• Novel diagnostic approaches, including biomarkers, imaging modalities and other non-invasive techniques for disease assessment;
• Biologic and non-biologic therapies;
• Nutritional approaches;
• Disease monitoring strategies, including therapeutic drug monitoring, mucosal healing and treat-to-target strategies;
• Disease- and therapy-related complications and surveillance;
• Advances in surgical intervention.

Dr. Rajmohan Dharmaraj
Dr. Razan H. Alkhouri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Crohn’s disease
• ulcerative colitis
• imaging
• biologics
• nutrition