A clinical characteristic of paediatric ulcerative colitis patients qualified for a Cyclosporin A therapy

Background
According to ECCO/ESPGHAN consensus for managing acute severe ulcerative colitis in children, Cyclosporin A remains a rescue therapy in acute steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis.

Aim
To describe clinical features of children qualified for Cyclosporin A (CsA) treatment.

Material and methods
It is a retrospective, single centre study. We describe a clinical characteristic of children who underwent CsA treatment in the course of ulcerative colitis (UC).

Results
We evaluated 59 children's medical charts treated in our department with Cyclosporin A in the course of ulcerative colitis in years 2005–2015. There is a female predominance in the study (34/59). The median age at the diagnosis was 11.9 years, while the median age of the initiation of CsA 15 years. Ulcerative colitis had lasted on median 20 months when CsA was initiated. The median PUCAI score at the onset of CsA therapy was 50.00. Almost 80% of patients had a moderate/severe course.

Conclusion
CsA was in our department the drug of choice in case of steroid refractory ulcerative colitis.