Inflammatory bowel disease: the importance of early diagnosis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood has certain clinical and psychosocial characteristics that makes necessary an early diagnosis and treatment. It is a chronic and relapsing disease that has gastrointestinal and extraintestinal manifestations. It includes three disorders of unknown etiology: ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and unclassified IBD. They are defined by clinical, radiological, endoscopic and histological criteria. The follow up of these patients requires a multidisciplinary approach that addresses both medical and psychosocial aspects.