Pouchitis in Children: Therapeutic Options.

Pouchitis is an unfortunate common complication of the ileal pouch-anal anastomosis procedure, an otherwise very attractive surgical option in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). The fact that the same pouch in familial polyposis is hardly complicated by pouchitis suggests that the basic inflammatory process in UC might participate in the pathophysiology. We review the clinical features of pouchitis, the diagnostic approach, and the many therapeutic considerations, including more recent data on prebiotics and probiotics.