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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: INTRODUCTION, PATIENTS AND METHODS, CASE SERIES. Meshes: Adolescent, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Child, Crohn Disease, Female, Gastrointestinal Agents, Humans, Infliximab, Male, Prospective Studies, Retrospective Studies, Treatment Outcome.
user
Infliximab and pediatric stricturing Crohn's disease: a possible alternative to surgery? Context: Infliximab (IFX) is one of the treatments of choice for the different phenotypes of pediatric Crohn's disease (CD). Although it was initially feared that anti-TNFα treatment might cause bowel stenosis, recent studies have validated the efficacy of IFX as an anti-stricturing agent.AIM: To assess the efficacy of IFX treatment for pediatric stricturing CD. Data were obtained on pediatric patients treated at our tertiary level Pediatrics Department (years 2000-2010). Indications for IFX therapy included persistent disease activity (PCDAI>20) unresponsive to corticosteroids and thiopurines. All patients treated with IFX underwent upper and lower intestinal endoscopy, abdominal ultrasound and magnetic resonance enterography. Among 44 pediatric CD patients, 21 were treated with IFX. Seven of these cases had luminal strictures and in 6 patients the inflammatory strictures disappeared after treatment with IFX. One child with ileal fibrotic stenosis (MR) required a surgical resection.
assistant
Our data support the efficacy of IFX in pediatric CD, including the stricturing phenotype.