HISTOPATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS OF BIOPSY SPECIMEN IN CHILDREN PRESENTING WITH LOWER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of different histopathological findings of biopsy specimens obtained through colonoscopy in children presenting with lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Methodology: It was a descriptive cross sectional study which was carried out at the department of Pediatrics Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) Rawalpindi from June 2010 to 19 February 2012. 80 biopsy specimen obtained through fibre-optic colonscopy were included in the study and the histopthological findings reported by consultant Pathologist were recorded. Data was analysed using SPSS version 10.Results: A total of 80 biopsy specimens were included in the study. Out of these, 47 (58.75%) patients had polyps in colon. Histopathological examination revealed juvenile polyp to be the most common finding; all 47 patients revealed juvenile polyps.13 patients had chronic non specific colitis.11 cases were found to be normal .Only 03 had evidence of ulcerative colitis while 06 specimens revealed no specific findings.Conclusion: Histopathologically, juvenile polyp is the major cause of LGIB in children in our set up which is also found in other national and international studies.