Children's clinic for Crohn's disease opens

Severance Children’s Hospital in Seoul announced that it has opened a clinic for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The clinic comprises medical staff from the pediatrics, pediatric endocrine, pediatric surgery, pediatric psychiatry, and radiology units, on top of offering consulting by the nutrition team at the Severance Hospital.

“For children and teenagers suffering from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, it is essential to offer evaluation and control from diverse perspectives, not only giving medical treatment of the disease but also considering their growth,” said professor Koh Hong at the hospital.

However, there was no integrated clinic for young patients here. The professor thus expected that the clinic would enhance not only their health but also the overall quality of life.

The ratio of patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis has been increasing steeply here during the past decade, and one among four patients are diagnosed when they are children or teenagers. It hasn’t been clarified what causes the diseases but researchers have estimated that multiple issues, including hereditary, environmental, and immunological factors, are behind it.