EEN treatment potential for adults with IBD

The IBD Team at Western Health, Melbourne, have been using Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) for several years in adult IBD patients with active severe disease. The team presented their findings at the UEG (European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) meeting in Copenhagen recently.

In an audit of 24 patients with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis they found that 70% of patients completed at least four weeks of EEN and there was a statistically significant improvement in patient clinical outcomes for Crohn’s disease. There was no change in disease scores for the ulcerative colitis patients.

The team concluded: “Our small single centre study provides supportive evidence that EEN is effective and well tolerated in adult IBD patients. In the future, this form of dietary intervention could be more widely accepted in management of IBD patients with moderate to severe disease.”

Reference: The Limbic*gastroenterology 19 October 2023