Baseline characteristics of patients with chronic abdominal pain and diarrhoea stratified into high and and low risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
| Characteristics | High risk (n=142) | Low risk (n=195) |
| Reference test | Endoscopy | Clinical follow-up |
| Demographics | ||
| Median age in years (IQR) | 14 (11–15) | 12 (9–14) |
| Male gender | 67 (47) | 112 (57) |
| Major red flag symptoms | ||
| Overt rectal blood loss | 90 (63) | 0 (0) |
| Perianal disease (superficial anal fissures excluded) | 20 (14) | 0 (0) |
| Minor red flag symptoms | ||
| Weight loss or linear growth deceleration | 52 (37) | 47 (24) |
| Extraintestinal symptoms (including arthritis) | 20 (14) | 13 (7) |
| Family history of IBD | 12 (9) | 18 (9) |
| Anaemia (haemoglobin <−2 SD for age and gender) | 56 (39) | 19 (10) |
| Increased markers of inflammation (C reactive protein >10 mg/L or erythrocyte sedimentation rate >20 mm/hour) | 58 (41) | 10 (5) |
| Stool test | ||
| Increased calprotectin (>50 µg/g) | 125 (88) | 76 (39) |
Values are number (%) unless otherwise stated.