Overlap of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome in the pediatric population | Neurogastro Latam Reviews



Overlap of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome in the pediatric population



Amber H. Langshaw, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA


Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects many pediatric patients. It can be present alone or in combination with organic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Intestinal inflammation (infectious and non-infectious) predisposes children to the development of visceral hypersensitivity that can manifest as functional abdominal pain disorders including irritable bowel disorders. The new onset of IBS symptoms in a patient with an underlying organic disease such as IBD is clinically a conundrum for the physician along with the patient and their families. Symptoms of an IBD fiare can manifest as symptoms also shared with IBS. There is little research on the overlap of irritable bowel disease with Crohn' s disease and ulcera ti ve colitis in children. The causes for these differences in prevalence are unknown. In this article, we review literature on the overlap between IBD and IBS in the pediatric population and establish comparisons with studies conducted in adults along with postulate possible mechanisms for why overlap exists more in patients with IBD.



Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease. Irritable bowel syndrome. Pediatric. Overlap.