Management of children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in children have more extensive disease with more severe disease course, more earlier progression of disease, and more longer disease course than adult IBD. Children with IBD often require rapid treatment escalation both for induction and maintenance of remission, due to more severe disease activity. The goals of treatment of IBD in children and adolescents are to eliminate symptoms with minimal complications, avoid drug-induced short- and long-term adverse effects, optimize growth and nutrition, decrease the psychosocial burden of the disease with psychosocial support, and restore quality of life, not only at the diagnosis, also during treatment. Many children present in the pre- or peri-pubertal period and pubertal delay is important component. The aim of this article is to help to adult gastroenterology physicians caring for children with IBD.