Paediatric inflammatory bowel disease in New Zealand.

Abstract

The incidence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease in New Zealand is comparable but at the lower end relative to North America and United Kingdom. There is more Crohn's disease than ulcerative colitis and only a minority of Crohn's disease patients presented with the classic triad of abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhoea. 5-aminosalicylic acid preparations and steroids as first line treatment of Crohn's disease were much more common than nutritional therapy. It is rare for New Zealand Polynesian children to develop paediatric inflammatory bowel disease.