Incidence and Risk Factors for Perianal Disease in Pediatric Crohn Disease Patients Followed in CEDATA‐GPGE Registry

ABSTRACT Objectives: Perianal disease (PD) with fistula and/or abscess formation is a severe complication in Crohn disease (CD). We examined prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for PD development in a pediatric CD cohort. Methods: Patients with CD from the prospective, multicenter registry for inflammatory bowel disease from Germany and Austria (CEDATA‐GPGE) were included if diagnosed at the age of 18 years or younger, registered within 3 months after diagnosis, and having at least 2 follow‐up visits within the first year of registration. We examined potential risk factors for PD with Kaplan‐Meier analysis and a final Cox model considering sex, family history of inflammatory bowel disease, extraintestinal manifestations, disease location, and induction therapy (corticosteroids or nutritional therapy). Results: Of 2406 patients with CD, 742 fulfilled inclusion criteria (59% boys, mean age at diagnosis 12.4 ± 3.4 years). PD was present at diagnosis in 41 patients (5.5%; 80.9% boys), whereas 32 patients (4.3%, 81.3% male) developed PD during follow‐up (mean 2.0 ± 1.6 years). The cumulative incidence of PD at 12 and 36 months after diagnosis was 3.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Potential risk factors for PD development during follow‐up were male sex (hazard ratio = 3.2, [95%; confidence interval 1.2–7.8]) and induction therapy with corticosteroids (hazard ratio = 2.5 [1.1–5.5]). Diagnostic evaluation at PD diagnosis was incomplete in 40% of affected subjects. PD resolved within 1 year in 50% of cases. Conclusions: Approximately 10% of CD patients in our cohort suffered from PD within the first 3 years of their disease. Male sex and initial corticosteroid therapy were associated with an increased risk to develop PD after diagnosis.