KNUCH

The Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition treats children with chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding, and manages nutritional diseases such as poor growth and obesity. In particular, it mainly treats patients who need endoscopy or have disease such as inflammatory bowel disease (Cron's disease, ulcerative colitis), allergic gastroenteritis, chronic hepatitis, Cholestatic Liver Diseases, and special diseases (Wilson's disease, Glycogen storage disease, Liver transplantation).

We run specialized clinics for inflammatory bowel disease, which is rapidly increasing in children. In order to provide the best treatment and management for all children and adolescents in the region, we are fulfilling our responsibilities as a children's hospital by providing up-to-date information through the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Inflammatory Bowel Disease Network. During the vacation, we also provide education programs for patients and guardians. Rare and intractable diseases related to digestive organs are closely diagnosed and managed by Professor Hwang Soo-kyung, who is in charge of genetic metabolic diseases, and we are reporting the world's first extremely rare disease.

Since 1996, the field of pediatric endoscopy has been equipped with the latest equipment, including neonatal endoscopy, and has performed all kinds of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy safely. Endoscopy is available also in the operating room or intensive care unit. In particular, the neonatal intensive care unit and the pediatric intensive care unit have established infrastructure to enable ultrasound and endoscopy to be performed next to the patient's bed at any time. We have weekly discussions with pediatric imaging and pathology departments to make the best diagnosis and treatment plans.

• A

  Conditions

  Our service offers care for neonates, infants, children and young adults with a wide variety of conditions:

• 1

  General gastrointestinal conditions which include:

  Chronic refractory constipation
  Crohn's disease
  Cystic fibrosis associated gastrointestinal disease
  Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders
  Food allergy
  Gastroesophageal reflux disease
  Helicobacter pylori
  Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  Irritable Bowel syndrome (IBS)
  Malabsorption disorders
  Motility disorders
  Pancreatitis: Acute and chronic
  Ulcerative colitis
  Irritable Bowel syndrome

• 2

  Liver conditions which include

  Acute liver failure
  Autoimmune hepatitis
  Biliary atresia
  Fatty liver disease
  Metabolic liver disease
  Primary sclerosing cholangitis
  Viral hepatitis
  Wilson's disease

• 3

  Complex nutritional conditions which include :

  Intestinal failure
  Nutritional programs associated with other complex disorders (eg. oncological, immunological,
  gastrointestinal conditions)
  Short bowel syndrome

• B

  Investigations and treatments

  We offer a comprehensive variety of investigations and treatments :

• 1

  Investigations :

  Capsule endoscopy
  MR/CT enteroscopy
  gastroscopy and colonoscopy
  Fibroscan
  TDM (therapeutic drug monitoring) of IBD medication
  FilmArray Gastrointestinal Panel (22 targets), Fecal calprotectin
  Next Generation Sequencing, Diagnostic Exome Sequencing

• 2

  Treatments

  Exclusive enteral nutrition
  Therapeutic endoscopy
  PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, tube and button type)
  Liver biopsy
  Liver transplantation

• 3

  Inflammatory Bowel Disease service

  The Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) service provides care for over 200 complex IBD patients and is one of the largest units in Korea. We provide comprehensive care for our patients from the point of referral right through to diagnosis, treatment and long term management.