[Croatian guidelines for use of enteral nutrition in Crohn's disease]

Nutrition has an important role in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). This role includes the prevention and correction of malnutrition, the prevention of osteoporosis and the promotion of optimal growth and development in children. In active Crohn's disease, nutritional therapy (in the form of enteral feeding) is an effective primary therapy for pediatric patients. Studies have shown that there is no difference in the efficacy of elemental, oligomeric and polymeric enteral formulas. Therefore, the use of polymeric formula is recommended because of higher palatability, better acceptance by patients, lower rate of complications and lower cost when compared with other enteral formulas. Today we have knowledge that some nutrients which are added to modified special enteral formulas have almost pharmacological terapeutic potential in the management of inflammatory bowel disease. Novel nutritional therapeutic strategies for inflammatory bowel disease, such as transforming growth factor-beta-enriched (TGF-beta2) enteral feeding, showed beneficial effects in several clinical studies. Croatian guidelines for enteral nutrition in Crohn's disease have been developed by interdisciplinary expert group of Croatian clinicians involved with inflammatory bowel disease. The guidelines are based on evidence from relevant medical literature and clinical experience of working group.