Use of exclusive enteral nutrition in paediatric Crohn's disease in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A six-week course of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is recommended as first treatment in active paediatric Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to assess short-term and long-term outcome of EEN, and to identify predictive factors of treatment success.
METHODS: The medical records of newly diagnosed paediatric CD patients initiating EEN as remission induction therapy between January 2008 and October 2011 were retrospectively studied. Treatment outcome was assessed using a previously described pattern recognition model.
RESULTS: 77 CD patients (median age 13.9 years, 57% male) initiated a six-week course of EEN, combined with azathioprine maintenance treatment in 92%. Patients received EEN as either hyperosmolar sip feeds or polymeric formula by nasogastric tube. In patients completing a six-week course of EEN (n=58), complete remission was achieved in 71%, partial remission in 26%, and no response in 3%. Complete remission rates were higher in children presenting with isolated ileal/ileocaecal disease and malnutrition. Nineteen patients discontinued EEN before the intended treatment period due to worsening of symptoms (n=9) or adherence issues (n=10). Non-adherence occurred more often in older children, females, children from non-Dutch parents, and patients taking hyperosmolar sip feeds compared with polymeric formula by nasogastric tube. The likelihood of relapsing disease within the first year after EEN treatment was 59%.
CONCLUSION: A six-week course of EEN is effective in newly diagnosed paediatric CD, with response rates that seem to be influenced by disease location and nutritional status, but not by type of formula. Non-adherence occurs frequently and limits the success of this treatment in everyday clinical practice.