Kalpesh Thakkar

Gastroesophageal Reflux and Asthma in Children: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT: The relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma in children has been investigated; however, the nature of the association (if any) between these 2 conditions is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review of the literature to examine the association between GERD and asthma in children. METHODS: A search of the medical literature was conducted by using PubMed and Embase (1966 through December 2008). Full-length articles in English that described at least 20 subjects younger than 18 years were included if they reported the prevalence of GERD (symptoms, pH studies, endoscopy/histology) in individuals with asthma or the prevalence of asthma in individuals with GERD. We calculated pooled odds ratios from studies that examined control groups, and we pooled prevalence estimates from all studies. RESULTS: A total of 20 articles that described 5706 patients fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Seventeen studies used objective methods for documenting reflux (eg, pH probe, contrast imaging, impedance, esophagogastroduodenoscopy), 2 studies relied on symptom-based questionnaires, and 1 study used diagnostic codes. Most studies (n = 19) examined the prevalence of GERD in 3726 individuals with asthma and reported highly variable estimates (19.3%–80.0%) and a pooled average of 22.8% with GERD symptoms, 62.9% of 789 patients with abnormal esophageal pH, and 34.8% of 89 patients with esophagitis. Only 5 studies included controls and enrolled 1314 case-patients with asthma and 2434 controls without asthma. The average prevalence of GERD was 22.0% in asthma cases and 4.8% in controls (pooled odds ratio: 5.6 [95% confidence interval: 4.3–6.9]). CONCLUSIONS: There is a possible association between GERD and asthma in pediatric patients seen with asthma in referral settings. However, because of methodologic limitations of existing studies, the paucity of population-based studies, and a lack of longitudinal studies, several aspects of this association are unclear.

Diagnostic yield of oesophagogastroduodenoscopy in children with abdominal pain.

Background  Abdominal pain is the most common indication for oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) in children. However, existing studies examining the diagnostic outcomes of OGD in children with abdominal pain are limited.

Complications of Pediatric Colonoscopy: A Five-Year Multicenter Experience

Colonoscopy has become a routine modality for the evaluation and treatment of colonic disorders in children. Although generally considered a safe procedure, colonoscopy has the potential for complications. Most informed consent forms describe adverse effects of sedative medicines, perforation, infection, and bleeding as possible risks of colonoscopy. However, the frequency of these complications remains unclear. There are limited pediatric data showing complication rates, and most prior studies involved small numbers of procedures. Furthermore, there might be additional complications that need to be added to consent protocols, because most current complication data are extrapolated from the much larger experience in adult populations. A review of pediatric literature demonstrated a wide array of potential complications and no large multicenter studies during the past 25 years. The largest study was conducted in 1978–1979 and included a survey of 1400 proctosigmoidoscopies performed during an 18-month period at 25 medical centers in the U.S.1 This study was only published in abstract form and reported complications in 0.2% of all colonoscopy procedures. These complications included one hemorrhage requiring transfusion and one perforation. In the second largest study, Stringer et al2 prospectively described a series of 250 flexible colonoscopies done in the United Kingdom during a 3.5-year period with no adverse events. Several other studies reported complications (Table 1) in pediatric colonoscopy, but the majority of these studies examined a small number of procedures. Table 1 Complication Rates of Colonoscopy in Pediatric Literature Arranged by Sample Size in Descending Order Determination of potential colonoscopy-related complications and their expected frequency in children can lead to enhanced risk-benefit analysis by physicians and patients and improved informed consent. There is a lack of systematic, multicenter studies in the pediatric population. Therefore, we conducted the current study to examine the frequency, type, and clinical determinants of immediate complications encountered during pediatric colonoscopies performed in 12 U.S. centers by using Pediatric Endoscopy Database System–Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (PEDS-CORI) database.

EGD in children with abdominal pain: a systematic review

BACKGROUND:We performed a systematic review to examine the diagnostic yield (endoscopic and histologic) of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for the evaluation of abdominal pain of unclear etiology in children. We also examined the effect of EGD on change in treatment, quality of life, change in abdominal pain, and cost-effectiveness.METHODS:All full-length articles published in English during 1966–2005 were included if: (a) participants had abdominal pain without known underlying gastrointestinal disease, (b) participants underwent EGD primarily for the evaluation of abdominal pain, (c) findings of the EGD were reported, (d) participants were under 18 yr, and (e) sample size greater than 50.RESULTS:Eighteen articles examining 1,871 patients fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All were observational and most (13) were prospective. Only three studies were performed in the United States and of those two were prospective. The largest study examined about 400 procedures and 13 studies examined less than 100 procedures. One case of inflammatory bowel disease and 67 duodenal or gastric ulcers were reported, thus diagnostic yield was achieved in 3.6% of cases. The prevalence of nonspecific histological gastrointestinal inflammatory lesions varied between 23% and 93%. Six articles attempted to correlate endoscopic or histologic findings with treatment management decisions. No articles attempted to describe quality of life or cost-effectiveness. None of the studies analyzed the association of alarm symptoms or signs to diagnostic yield.CONCLUSIONS:The diagnostic yield of EGD in children with unclear abdominal pain is low; however, existing studies are inadequate. The effect of EGD on change in treatment, quality of life, improvement of abdominal pain, and cost-effectiveness is unknown. The predictors of significant findings are unclear. Our findings suggest that a large multicenter study examining clinical factors, biopsy reports, and addressing patient outcomes is needed to further clarify the value of EGD in children with abdominal pain.

Repeat Endoscopy Affects Patient Management in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

OBJECTIVES:Endoscopy is commonly performed in the diagnosis of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The utility of repeat endoscopy for the management of pediatric IBD has not been subject to investigation. The frequency and determinants of changes in medical management resulting from endoscopy are unknown.METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional cohort study to assess the frequency and determinants of management change in all children (0–21 years) who underwent endoscopy for the surveillance or evaluation of established IBD between July 2002 and July 2006 at 2 referral centers in the United States. Patients were sampled from the Pediatric Endoscopy Database System Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative and a chart review was performed to identify demographic features (age, gender), blood work (hemoglobin, albumin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein), and endoscopy results (endoscopic and histologic). An endoscopic score was used to assess mucosal injury. Subjects were divided into two groups for comparative analysis: (i) patients with management changes based on endoscopic or histologic findings, and (ii) patients without changes.RESULTS:We analyzed 285 endoscopic procedures (137 colonoscopies, 109 esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with colonoscopy, 25 sigmoidoscopies, 8 EGDs, 6 EGDs with sigmoidoscopy) performed in 230 children (mean age 14.5) with established IBD, including 147 with Crohns disease, 80 with ulcerative colitis, and 3 with indeterminant colitis. Management changes were documented in 119 (42%) procedures, including 58 (20%) immediately after endoscopy, 52 (18%) after histology review, and 9 (3%) after both. Management changes included new medications in 86 cases, discontinuation of a medication in 3 cases, hospital admission in 11, and surgical consult in 14. No significant differences between groups occurred with regard to age, gender, endoscopy type, or infliximab use. The presence of anemia, hypoalbuminemia, or elevated markers of inflammation (ESR, CRP) did not correlate with management outcome. Management changes after endoscopy were more frequent in patients with Crohns disease as compared to patients with ulcerative colitis. Patients with mucosal injury were more likely to have a management change than those with mucosal healing (80% vs. 20%; P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS:The overall rate of management change after endoscopic evaluation in children with IBD is approximately 42%. Addition of a new medication is the most common intervention. Blood work and patient symptoms before the procedure did not predict management outcome; however, mucosal healing may be an important end point. Our findings suggest that endoscopy is valuable for the evaluation of children with IBD.

Outcomes of children after esophagogastroduodenoscopy for chronic abdominal pain.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic abdominal pain is the most common indication for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in children. However, little is known about the accuracy of EGD-based diagnosis or the outcomes of the patients who undergo this procedure. We examined the diagnostic yield of EGD and short-term outcomes of children who underwent this procedure for chronic abdominal pain. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of 290 children (4-18 years old; mean age, 11.9 ± 3.5 years; 93 girls) who underwent EGD for the primary indication of chronic abdominal pain (216 with at least 1 alarm feature) at a US pediatric gastroenterology referral center. We collected data on demographic features (age, sex), clinical characteristics (alarm features, Rome III criteria), and EGD results for each patient. All subjects with diagnostic lesions were followed for at least 1 year after EGD to determine short-term outcomes. RESULTS Overall, EGD provided an accurate diagnosis for 109 children (38%). Diagnoses included esophagitis (21.0%), eosinophilic gastroenteritis (4.1%), eosinophilic esophagitis (3.8%), Helicobacter pylori infection (2.0%), celiac disease (0.6%), and Crohns disease (0.4%). Short-term outcomes were available for 81% of patients with diagnostic findings, and medical therapy was effective in approximately 67% of these children. CONCLUSIONS EGD is valuable for the diagnosis of children with abdominal pain, with a 38% diagnostic yield. EGD identified disorders for which medical therapy was effective in 67% of children during the year after diagnosis.

Colorectal polyps in childhood.

Purpose of review Colorectal polyps are a common cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in children. This review updates the information on colorectal polyps and summarizes the recent advances in genetics, diagnosis, and treatment of polyps in the large intestine. Recent findings A review of recent literature regarding colorectal polyps demonstrates an estimated detected prevalence of 6.1% overall and 12.0% among those with lower gastrointestinal bleeding during pediatric colonoscopy. Non-Caucasian races (e.g., black and Hispanic) are at higher risk for colorectal polyps in childhood. Recent data show juvenile polyps may recur in approximately 45% of children with multiple polyps and 17% of children with solitary polyps. A clinical trial showed that celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor, significantly reduced the number of colorectal polyps in children with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Ethical challenges related to genetic tests for FAP have been newly examined. The utility of novel endoscopic techniques (e.g., enteroscopy) in Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome to prevent intussusception have been newly described. Summary Although colorectal polyps in children are generally benign and easily removed, careful clinical evaluation and ongoing research are needed to identify the small proportion of children at risk for cancer. The current paradigm of using the polyp number at presentation as a primary determinant of subsequent surveillance may be inadequate for many patients.