Prognostic value of eosinophils in inflammatory bowel diseases in children

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), chronic inflammatory pathologies characterized primarily by lesions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In recent decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of IBD, which is associated with increased alertness of doctors and improved diagnostic methods. Endoscopic examination is of key importance in the diagnosis of these diseases, but more and more attention is being paid to histological examination. In biopsies from the intestinal mucosa, the crypt structure and cellular infiltrate are evaluated, which in IBD can be represented by various cells – lymphocytes, neutrophils and macrophages. Recently, increased attention has been paid to variants of inflammation, characterized mainly by eosinophilic infiltration. There is no unequivocal opinion on the effect of eosinophilic infiltration on the course, prognosis of the disease and the effectiveness of therapy in IBD. Given that eosinophils are actively involved in inflammation and the development of fibrosis in other diseases, it can be assumed that the eosinophilic variant of inflammation in the intestinal mucosa may be a prognostically significant factor determining the course of the disease and the choice of effective therapy. In this paper, the authors present their own observations on the relationship between eosinophilic infiltration of the intestinal mucosa and the course of IBD based on a retrospective assessment of the results of histological examination.