Ashish Chogle

A million-dollar work-up for abdominal pain: is it worth it?

Background and Aim: Pain-predominant-functional gastrointestinal disorders (PP-FGIDs) are common. The diagnosis is clinical and there are no biological markers to characterize these conditions. Despite limited evidence, investigations are commonly performed. The aim of the study was to investigate diagnostic practices, yield, and costs in children with PP-FGIDs. Patients and Methods: Charts of all of the children older than 4 years diagnosed as having abdominal pain were reviewed. Results and costs of diagnostic investigations were analyzed. Results: Of 243 children with abdominal pain, 122 (50.2%) had PP-FGIDs (79 girls, mean age 12.7 years). All of the children underwent diagnostic work-up. Complete blood cell count was done in 91.8% of patients. None had elevated white blood cells, platelets, and low albumin. Six had either elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein, but none had elevation of both; 4 of these 6 cases underwent endoscopies with normal results in 3 cases; Helicobacter pylori was found in 1 case. One child had elevated tissue transglutaminase 1 only antibodies with normal endoscopy. Amylase, lipase, direct bilirubin, stool cultures, and ova or parasites were always normal. One child had intermittent elevation of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase. There were no significant abnormalities in urinalysis or electrolytes. Abdominal x-rays were done in 38.5%, showing only retained stools in 13% of these patients. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography scan were done in 23.7% and 9% of cases, respectively, but were of no clinical value; 33.6% patients had esophagogastroduodenoscopy (9.7% abnormal: Helicobacter pylori, chemical gastritis, esophagitis) and 17.2% had colonoscopy (9.5% abnormal: rare fork crypts, lymphoid hyperplasia). Total costs:

Parental report of abdominal pain and abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders from a community survey.

744,726. Average cost per patient:

How Reliable Are the Rome III Criteria for the Assessment of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children

6104.30. Conclusions: In children with PP-FGIDs, investigations are common, costs are substantial, and yield is minimal.

Accuracy of pain recall in children.

Background and Aims: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common in children. Abdominal pain (AP) is the most common gastrointestinal (GI) symptom in children. The severity of AP drives medical consultations and quality of life in adult patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Thirty-eight percent of 8- to 15-year-old schoolchildren report AP weekly with 24% of those children reporting persistence of AP >8 weeks. Despite the high prevalence of AP, only 2% of school children seek medical attention for AP. Lack of parental knowledge on their childs symptoms may constitute one of the factors affecting the low ratio of consultation in children reporting AP. The aim was to assess parental reports of AP symptoms in a population of healthy community children. Methods: Data of 5 studies with identical methodology to assess GI symptoms in children with celiac disease (CD), cows milk allergy (CMA), pyloric stenosis (PS), Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), and stem cell transplant (SC) and their healthy siblings were reviewed: a phone questionnaire on GI symptoms and Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rome III version questionnaire (QPGS-RIII). Inclusion criteria were healthy children 4 to 18 years of age with a sibling previously diagnosed with CD, CMA, PS, HSP, or SC. Results: Data on 246 healthy children, mean age (9.8 years, range 3–24, 112 girls) were obtained. Parents reported presence of AP in the last 8 weeks before the telephone contact in 20 (8.1%) children (age range 4–18 years, 11 girls). There was no significant difference in AP prevalence between boys and girls (P = 0.64). Six children (2.4%) met QPGS-RIII diagnostic criteria for FGIDs: 3 functional abdominal pain (FAP) and 3 IBS. Conclusions: AP was common in community children. FAP was the most common FGID among healthy community children. The prevalence of AP by parental report is lower than the previously published prevalence of AP reported by children. Lack of awareness of childrens symptoms may play a role in the low ratio of consultation for AP in symptomatic children. Future prospective studies should confirm our findings and investigate the factors influencing the medical consultation decision including parental awareness of childrens symptoms.

Gastroparesis in children: the benefit of conducting 4-hour scintigraphic gastric-emptying studies.

OBJECTIVES:Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common in children. Diagnosis of these conditions is based on the pediatric Rome criteria. In the past, we have shown that there was low inter-rater reliability (IRR) among pediatric gastroenterologists using the Rome II criteria. Since then, a new version of the criteria has been issued. The reliability of the Rome III criteria has not been established.METHODS:A total of 10 pediatric gastroenterologist specialists and 10 pediatric gastroenterology fellows were provided with 20 clinical vignettes and a list of 17 possible diagnoses (all pediatric categories of the Rome criteria plus “none of the above” or “not enough information”) and instructed to select one or more diagnosis for each vignette.RESULTS:The average percentage of agreement among the raters was 50% for the pediatric gastroenterologists and 45% for the pediatric gastroenterology fellows. The inter-rater percentage of agreement per clinical case was >50% in only 7 out of 20 (35%) vignettes for the gastroenterologists and only 6 out of 20 (30%) cases for the fellows. The inter-rater percentage of agreement was <25% in 2 out of 20 (10%) vignettes for the gastroenterologists and 4 out of 20 (20%) vignettes for the fellows. The κ coefficient was 0.45 for the specialists (P<0.0001) and 0.39 for the fellows (P<0.0001). In a subanalysis of the groups of pain and constipation-related disorders, the inter-rater percentage of agreement per clinical case ranged between 27 and 100% (mean 57%, κ=0.37, P<0.0001) for the gastroenterologists and between 36 and 80% (mean 52%, κ=0.33, P<0.0001) for the fellows in the constipation subgroup. The inter-rater percentage of agreement per clinical case for the pain subgroup ranged between 22 and 80% (mean 48%, κ=0.36, P<0.0001) for the gastroenterologists and 22 and 62% (mean 39%, κ=0.29, P<0.0001) for the fellows in the pain subgroup. The κ coefficient for specialists with expertise in FGIDs was 0.37 (P<0.0001) and for those with expertise in other gastroenterology conditions was 0.53 (P<0.0001).CONCLUSIONS:The IRR among pediatric gastroenterologists and fellows was found to be fair to moderate for the Rome III criteria. Only slight to fair agreement between raters existed for important subcategories of pain and constipation. The results from our current study are almost similar to that of the IRR study done for the Rome II criteria. This indicates the need for further refinement of the Rome criteria to make them more encompassing and user friendly.

Yield and cost of performing screening tests for constipation in children

Background and Aim: Chronic abdominal pain (AP) is common in children. Recall of symptoms is used clinically to determine management, to assess treatment progress, and in drug studies to assess outcomes. Limited data exist on accuracy of AP recall in children. The aim of the present study was to assess ability to accurately recall AP in children. Methods: The study was a secondary analysis of data obtained from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, evaluating amitriptyline in children with functional gastrointestinal disorders. Children ages 8 to 17 years with AP predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders based on Rome II criteria were recruited from 6 centers. Those with evidence of organic disease were excluded. Patients maintained AP diary daily for 1 month (presence, frequency, and intensity). At the end of the study, patients reported the number of days of AP during previous month. Agreement between daily pain reports and recalled pain was assessed. Univariate analysis was conducted with Spearman rank correlations. Results: We recruited 63 children (45 girls, mean age 12.8 years). Sixteen percent children had perfect agreement on number of days of AP. Fifty-four percent of children recalled fewer episodes of pain. The average number of days with AP by recall was 17.7/month, whereas by diary it was 23.5/month (P = 0.001). Correlation between patient recall of the last week of symptoms (r = 0.47) was no better than correlation between recall of the last 30 days of symptoms (r = 0.48). On comparing AP recall versus various pain intensities, reported AP did not reflect only AP of greater severity. Higher correlation of recall of symptoms was seen in children 11 years or younger (r = 0.59) as compared with children older than 11 years (r = 0.26). Conclusions: Few children can accurately recall the episodes of AP. Children commonly recall a lower frequency of AP than that assessed by prospective diary reports. Reported recall does not reflect a shorter recollection period. Recall is not related to intensity of pain. Adolescents have worse recall of symptoms.

Rapunzel syndrome: a rare cause of biliary obstruction.

Background and Aim: Scintigraphic gastric emptying study (GES) is the criterion standard for diagnosis of gastroparesis. Adult studies demonstrated that extending GES to 4 hours increases its ability to diagnose delayed gastric emptying. Most pediatric centers assess GES up to 2 hours postmeal. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of extending GES from 2 to 4 hours in evaluation of children with suspected gastroparesis. Methods: We conducted a chart review of all children who had a 4-hour GES with standard radiolabeled solid meal in 2009–2010. Results of GES at 1, 2, and 4 hours were compared. Patients were diagnosed as having gastroparesis using adult criteria: if gastric retention of meal was >90%, 60%, and 10% at 1, 2 and 4 hours, respectively. A telephone survey assessed GES time at top 20 pediatric gastroenterology centers in the United States. Cost of evaluation of patients diagnosed as having gastroparesis was estimated. Full-time equivalents of nuclear medicine technicians and number of nuclear medicine studies done at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago from 2007 to 2010 were examined. Results: A total of 71 patients (32 boys, average age 10.8 years) were studied. Sixty-two percent (n = 44) children had abnormal GES; 23% (8/35) of them who had normal values at 2 hours had abnormal GES at 4 hours (P < 0.0001). Twenty-eight percent of patients had delayed GES at 1 hour: all persisted to have abnormal GES at 2 and 4 hours. Cost of evaluation of a child for gastroparesis was

Pediatric IBS: an overview on pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment.

9014. Only 5 of the top 20 pediatric gastroenterology centers in the United States conducted 4-hour GES. Transitioning from 2 hours to 4 hours only required scheduling adjustments and did not result in limitation in the number of scheduled patients. Conclusions: Extending GES to 4 hours results in a considerable increase in diagnosis of gastroparesis.

Gastric Burkitt Lymphoma : A Rare Cause of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in a Child With HIV/AIDS

BACKGROUND Chronic constipation is one of the most common reasons for pediatric outpatient visits. Clinical guidelines recommend that the work-up for chronic refractory constipation include thyroid function tests, celiac serology, and measurement of calcium and lead levels. Data to justify routine screening of constipated children using these laboratory tests are lacking. OBJECTIVES To study the prevalence of celiac disease, hypothyroidism, hypercalcemia and lead poisoning in children with chronic constipation; and to estimate the health care costs of applying the guideline recommendations. METHOD Charts of constipated children from 2007 to 2011 were reviewed for the present retrospective cohort study. Results and costs of thyroid function tests, celiac panel, total immunoglobulin (Ig) A, and determination of lead and calcium levels were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 7472 children (mean age 7.9 years; 3908 female) were evaluated: 1731 patients were screened for celiac antibodies; 55 had elevated tissue transglutaminase IgA levels and 29 had biopsy-positive celiac disease. Only three celiac patients had constipation as the sole presenting symptom; 1703 patients were screened for total IgA levels; 55 had IgA deficiency and two had biopsy-positive celiac disease; 2332 had free T4 and⁄or thyroid-stimulating hormone levels; and 14 had hypothyroidism. Only two patients had constipation as the sole presenting symptom; 4651 patients had calcium levels measured, 10 of whom had high levels but normal repeat values. Three patients had normal lead levels. The mean cost per patient was USD

Electrocardiograms changes in children with functional gastrointestinal disorders on low dose amitriptyline

1,014. Total screening cost for all patients was USD