What's new this month in BMJ Journals

Growth failure may predict childhood inflammatory bowel disease

In 1998-9 UK paediatricians, gastroenterologists, and surgeons found 739 new cases of childhood inflammatory bowel disease, a nationwide survey found. Crohn's disease presented most commonly with abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhoea, while bleeding was more likely than weight loss to indicate colitis However, nearly half of the children with Crohn's disease had not reported diarrhoea and only a quarter had the full triad of symptoms. Median delay from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was five months, equally divided between the time taken to present to a general practitioner and time awaiting hospital confirmation. The longest delays were in Crohn's …