Growth Program for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Growth is a dynamic marker of overall health status in children and a dynamic marker of disease activity and overall disease status in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (i.e. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis). While many factors affect growth in children with IBD, such as inflammation, nutrition, medications and genetics, ongoing inflammation is the major driver of growth impairment, even in the absence of intestinal symptoms.
The Growth Program for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Children’s National Hospital offers a specialized growth clinic for children with IBD, provides educational opportunities for children and their families and provides children with opportunities to participate in research studies if they and their families are interested.
Our Providers
Our pediatric specialists provide personalized care for your child’s physical, mental and emotional health needs.
Contact Information
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call our program at 202-476-3032.
Features of the Growth Program for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD)
Ranked as one of the top 10 hospitals for gastroenterology and GI surgery in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s National is uniquely positioned to assess and care for your child’s growth and development as they navigate life with IBD.
Our program is led by Neera Gupta, M.D., MAS, who is director of research for the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Children’s National. She is the principal investigator for an NIH-funded and Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation-funded multicenter study examining sex differences in statural growth impairment in pediatric Crohn’s disease (The Growth Study). The overall goal for Part 2 of the Growth Study (current study) is to develop a sex-specific treatment approach for children with Crohn’s disease.
Related Care Programs
Preparing For Your Child’s Growth Program Appointment
It’s important that we receive your child’s complete medical records at least two weeks prior to your scheduled visit. The records should include, but are not limited to:
- Complete growth chart (graphs and actual data points) including:
- Date
- Height and height percentile
- Weight and weight percentile
- BMI and BMI percentile
- Lab reports (blood work and stool studies)
- Endoscopy reports
- Pathology reports
- Radiology reports
- Clinic notes
3-Day Diet Record
We will need your child's completed 3-Day Diet Record sent to Dr. Neera Gupta and Lauren Pavone in the patient portal at least one to two weeks prior to your scheduled visit. This diet record is a tool that can help give us an idea of your child’s usual intake, so we can estimate the total calories consumed, including the amount of fat, carbohydrate, protein and micronutrients in the diet.
What to Expect During a Growth Program for IBD Visit
During each visit, you will meet with a gastroenterologist and registered dietitian. Each visit will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes.
Throughout your child's appointment, discussion with families will include:
- Review of the growth chart and skeletal maturation
- Prediction of target height
- Comprehensive nutrition assessment
- Comprehensive dietary assessment
- Assessment of disease activity and disease status
- Interpretation of your child’s growth
- Potential medication treatments
- Potential dietary treatments
- Potential diagnostic studies and biomarkers
- The latest research and potential impact on clinical care, including ongoing research studies
- Helpful resources
- Recommendations from the visit
We will send a written summary of the visit, including our assessment and recommendations, to your pediatrician and primary gastroenterologist.
IBD Research
The Growth Study, led by Neera Gupta, M.D., MAS, is an NIH-funded, Crohns and Colitis Foundation-funded multicenter study with the goal to develop a sex-specific treatment approach for children with Crohn’s disease.
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