Characteristics of allergic colitis in breast-fed infants in the absence of cow’s milk allergy

Table 1 Clinical characteristics and parameters related to atopy in infants with allergic colitis and control subjects n (%)

Characteristic	AC (n = 30)	Controls (n = 34)
Gender (F:M)	19:11	19:15
Age at presentation (wk, mean)	17.2	16.9
Family history of atopy	17 (57)	13 (38)
Atopic dermatitis	8 (27)	7 (21)
Duration of hematochezia (wk, mean)	8.6	-
Increased level of IgE (> 5 U/mL)	3	Not done
Positivity to specific IgE to food antigens	0	Not done

AC: Allergic colitis; M: Male; F: Female; IgE: Immunoglobulin E.

Table 2 Laboratory data on admission in infants with allergic colitis, allergic colitis 1, allergic colitis 2 and control subjects (mean ± SD)

	AC (n = 30)	AC1 (n = 19)	AC2 (n = 11)	Controls (n = 34)
Hemoglobin (g/L)	115 ± 13	114 ± 12	115 ± 14	113 ± 10
Iron (µmol/L)	8.4 ± 3.2b	8.9 ± 2.9b	7.6 ± 4.0b	13.7 ± 4.7
Thrombocytes (G/L)	474 ± 123b	458 ± 126b	497 ± 122b	376 ± 89
Eosinophils (G/L)	0.67 ± 0.49b	0.51 ± 0.45	0.91 ± 0.47a	0.33 ± 0.17

^aP < 0.05 vs allergic colitis (AC),

^bP < 0.01 vs controls. Allergic colitis 1 (AC1) consisted of patients with eosinophils between 6 and 19/ high power field (HPF), and allergic colitis 2 (AC2) with eosinophils ≥ 20 eosinophils/HPF.

Table 3 Frequency of laboratory abnormalities in infants with allergic colitis on admission and at 6-mo visit n (%)

Characteristic	On admission	6-mo visit	ND
Thrombocytosis (> 450 × 109/L)	16 (60)	5	2
Iron deficiency (< 9 μmol/L)	15 (50)	4	2
Eosinophilia (> 5% of leukocytes)	12 (40)	5	1

The number of patients who had previous abnormal parameters and no control analysis depicted in the last column. ND: Not done.

Table 4 Frequency of colonoscopic abnormalities and number of eosinophils on histology/high power field of infants with allergic colitis 1 and allergic colitis 2 n (%)

Characteristic	AC1 (n = 19)	AC2 (n = 11)
LNH	15 (79)	7 (64)
Aphthous ulceration	8 (42)	6 (55)
LNH and aphthous ulceration	6 (32)	5 (45)
Marked erythema	1 (5)	1 (9)
No. of eosinophils/HPF (mean)	12.2	29.5

LNH: Lymphonodular hyperplasia; AC1: Allergic colitis 1; AC2: Allergic colitis 2; HPF: High power field.

Table 5 Baseline characteristics and cessation of rectal bleeding in patients with amino acid-based formula feeding and breast-feeding [mean (range)]

Characteristic	Amino-acid based formula feeding	Breast-feeding
No. of patients	22	8
Age at presentation (wk)	16.0 (5-26)	20.6 (16-25)a
Rectal bleeding at baseline (wk)	7.9 (4-14)	10.5 (6-16)
Cessation of rectal bleeding (wk)	1.4 (0.5-3)
Rectal bleeding at 3-mo visit (n)	0	0

^aP < 0.05 vs formula feeding.