Pediatric Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Endoscopic and Histopathologic Spectrum in a 16-Year Tertiary-Center Cohort.
Inflammatory bowel disease was the most common diagnosis in children with lower gastrointestinal bleeding.
Pediatric Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Endoscopic and Histopathologic Spectrum in a 16-Year Tertiary-Center Cohort.
Pediatric lower gastrointestinal bleeding encompasses a broad and age-dependent spectrum of conditions, ranging from benign anorectal disorders to inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal polyps, and less common structural or vascular lesions.
This study aimed to evaluate the endoscopic and histopathologic spectrum of pediatric lower gastrointestinal bleeding and to examine age- and sex-related diagnostic patterns.
Were categorized into four age groups: 0-3, 4-6, 7-12, and 13-18 years.
inflammatory bowel disease was the leading cause, more common than any other diagnosis
The mean age was 11.4 ± 4.9 years, and 130 patients were female (48.5%).
Normal colonoscopic and histopathologic findings were observed in 65 patients (24.3%), anal fissure in 63 (23.5%), and polypoid lesions in 30 (11.2%).
Diagnostic distribution differed significantly across age groups ( p < 0.001).
Inflammatory bowel disease was more frequent among adolescents, whereas polypoid lesions were most common in children aged 4-6 years.
In children undergoing colonoscopic evaluation for lower gastrointestinal bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, normal findings, anal fissure, and polypoid lesions were the leading diagnostic categories.
Age- and sex-related patterns may help guide clinical evaluation and interpretation of colonoscopic and histopathologic findings.