Nutritional Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn disease can have a significant impact on nutritional status. The following chapter reviews the nutritional implications and general management of nutritional status in pediatric IBD. In addition, exclusive enteral nutrition therapy is a highly effective yet underutilized form of therapy for pediatric Crohn disease. The bulk of the chapter will concentrate on this form of therapy, detailing the history of its use and postulated mechanisms of action. The efficacy in both induction and maintenance of remission will be reviewed as well as the geographic variability and barriers to the utilization of enteral nutrition therapy.