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Transition of patients with paediatric IBD to adult services
  1. Victoria M Merrick1,
  2. Paul Henderson1,2
  1. 1 Department of Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
  2. 2 Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Paul Henderson, Child Life and Health, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, 20 Sylvan Place, Edinburgh EH9 1UW, UK; paul.henderson2{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2015-100640

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    Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing-remitting disease which presents in childhood or adolescence in a significant proportion of cases.1 Even those patients who remain in remission with an uncomplicated course in paediatric services need to progress to adult services in anticipation of the natural disease course and for surveillance of associated complications. Evidence from other chronic diseases tells us that morbidity and mortality often increase in young people in the early years following transfer to adult services.2

    Many patients with paediatric IBD (PIBD) have spent a significant amount of time in paediatric services and had prolonged contact with a particular multidisciplinary team, such that the prospect of moving on from familiar surroundings and care providers, with the additional challenge of taking on more responsibility for their own disease management, can be daunting for both patients and their families. It can also be difficult for the …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors VMM and PH contributed equally to the writing of the manuscript.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.