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[Treatment of unspecific ulcerative rectocolitis in a child with enemas containing butyrate. Case report]
I R Assumpção1, M Rodrigues, D Barbieri
1Unidade da Gastroenterologia do Instituto da Criança, Hospital da Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo-ICr-HC-FMUSP. izaura@u-net.com.br
Insights
Butyrate enemas show promise for treating pediatric ulcerative colitis when conventional therapies fail. This case report highlights potential benefits for refractory distal ulcerative colitis in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research
- Microbiome and Gut Health
Background:
- Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease affecting children.
- Refractory cases often require novel therapeutic approaches.
- Conventional treatments for pediatric UC can have limited efficacy or side effects.
Observation:
- A 4-year-old female with ulcerative colitis diagnosed at age 1 presented with refractory disease.
- Previous treatments including corticosteroids and immunosuppressants yielded unsatisfactory results.
- The patient received enemas containing butyrate as a therapeutic intervention.
Findings:
- Butyrate enemas led to significant clinical improvement in the pediatric patient.
- Endoscopic and histological parameters also demonstrated positive changes.
- This suggests a potential therapeutic role for butyrate in managing pediatric ulcerative colitis.
Implications:
- Butyrate may be a beneficial and safe adjunctive therapy for refractory distal ulcerative colitis in children.
- Further controlled trials are needed to establish the efficacy and safety of butyrate enemas in pediatric populations.
- This case contributes to the growing evidence supporting the role of short-chain fatty acids in IBD treatment.
Objective:
To report a promising therapy to ulcerative colitis in children.
Methods:
We report a case of ulcerative colitis in 4 years old female, who had this diagnosis since she was 1 year old. The treatment of RCU1 had an unsatisfactory response to conventional therapies (rectal and oral corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agent).
Results:
She showed improvement, using enemas containing butyrate, in clinical, endoscopic and histological parameters.
Conclusions:
Although the role of butyrate in the treatment of ulcerative colitis still remains to be determined, we find effective response in this case. Despite evidences that butyrate may be beneficial and safety in treating refractory distal ulcerative colitis, results of controlled trials, specially in children will be necessary to prove the efficacy of this therapy.