Relationship between silent gastroesophageal reflux and food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing

The relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease and recurrent wheezing in children

Gastroesophageal reflux disease occurs when gastric contents flow back into the esophagus and produce symptoms. Recurrent wheezing affects the quality of life for the patient and family. The association of gastroesophageal reflux with recurrent wheezing is suggested by different studies. The purpose of this study was to explore this relationship and to evaluate the outcome after appropriate treatment.A retrospective study on 85 children with recurrent wheezing, admitted in a pediatric gastroenterology regional center in Romania was performed. 24-hour continuous esophageal pH monitoring was used to evaluate the presence of gastroesophageal reflux and the results were interpreted using the Boix Ochoa score. All patients with positive score received treatment with proton pump inhibitors and they were evaluated again after 2 months.Gastroesophageal reflux was present in 71 children (83.5%), while 14 (16.5%) had a negative score, with a statistic significance (χ2 = 6.88, P = .0086, 95% confidence interval). After 2 months treatment with proton pump inhibitors, the Boix Ochoa score was still positive in 15 patients (21.13%).Recurrent wheezing is a solid reason for evaluating the presence of gastroesophageal reflux by 24-hour continuous esophageal pH-metry. Adequate treatment of gastroesophageal reflux solves also the recurrent wheezing in the majority of patients.

Dificuldades enfrentadas pelos pais de crianças com doença do refluxo gastroesofágico

Objetivo Identificar as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos pais de crianças com doença do refluxo gastroesofágico.Métodos Pesquisa qualitativa realizada com 16 familiares de crianças com doença do refluxo gastroesofágico. Foi utilizada uma questão norteadora, as entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas. Utilizou-se a técnica de análise de conteúdo.Resultados Emergiram oito categorias relacionadas às dificuldades enfrentadas pelos pais: vômitos frequentes, pneumonia, custo com tratamento, convívio social prejudicado, perda de peso, padrão de sono prejudicado, gerando dificuldade na adesão ao tratamento com orientações insuficientes.Conclusão As dificuldades enfrentadas pelos pais de crianças com refluxo gastroesofágico foram representadas por categorias que podem servir de indicadores para a qualidade do cuidado prestado.

The relationship between gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and asthma during childhood

BACKGROUND

The relationship between GERD and asthma is complex. It is not yet clear whether GERD is an accompanying finding or a cause of asthma, or even if it is an aggravating factor. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of asthma and allergic diseases in patients who underwent 24-h pH monitoring for a suspicion of GERD, including a comparison between subjects with and without GERD.

METHOD

Subjects who were evaluated by 24h ambulatory intraoesophageal pH monitoring were investigated for the presence of asthma and allergic disorders. All participants were subjected to a skin prick test and a complete blood count and serum levels of specific IgE.

RESULTS

A total of 204 subjects (49.5% male) with a mean age of 7.8±4.3 years were enrolled. A diagnosis of GERD was made in 78 (38.2%) subjects after 24h pH monitoring. The frequency of asthma in subjects with GERD was 20.5% compared to 25.4% in subjects without GERD (p=0.424). Subjects with GERD presenting with respiratory symptoms have higher incidence of asthma compared to subjects with GERD presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms (35.3% and 5.3% respectively; p=0.001).

CONCLUSION

Although, patients with and without GERD had comparable frequencies of asthma, our findings suggest that subjects who present with respiratory symptoms suggestive of GERD should also be evaluated for the presence of an underlying asthma.

Managing wheeze in preschool children: How difficult can it be?

Wheeze is a common symptom in infants and preschool children. Up to 30% of children wheeze at least once before the age of 3 years and 2% of those have it severe enough to warrant hospital admission. Not only parents but also physicians have difficulty in recognizing wheeze. Wrong diagnosis of the underlying condition leads to inappropriate and unnecessary management and patient morbidity. Asthma is the commonest underlying condition in children with wheeze, but the differential diagnosis is quite broad and a systematic approach including a good clinical history, thorough physical examination and appropriate investigations are essential to reach the accurate diagnosis.

Temporal relationship between gastroesophageal reflux and rate of gastric emptying in children

OBJECTIVES

There are conflicting reports for the relationship of reflux and the gastric emptying rate. In addition, the acquisition period is not well defined for the gastroesophageal reflux studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate the temporal distribution of the reflux episodes and to evaluate whether the gastric emptying rate changed with the gastroesophageal reflux time or amount.

METHODS

We used radionuclide scintigraphy to evaluate 211 pediatric patients (0-10 years of age). Scintigraphic studies were performed by acquiring 15 s images for 1 h in a supine position after ingesting milk containing 0.5 mCi (18.5 MBq) Tc-99m colloid. Reflux episodes were calculated every 10 min for each patient who had reflux. The gastric emptying rate was measured by drawing an region of interest over the gastric activity.

RESULTS

Gastric reflux was observed in 104 patients (49.28%). The number of reflux episodes was higher in the first and second 10 min (33.7 and 29.1% respectively). The lowest reflux episode was observed in the last 10 min (between 50 and 60 min) (2.6%) suggesting that the reflux episode was decreasing by the gastric emptying. Within the first 30 min, reflux was observed in 98 of 104 patients (94.23%). The gastric emptying rate was calculated to be 73 min in patients with a higher incidence of reflux and 62 min in patients who had delayed and lower incidence of reflux episodes. In 104 patients, the average gastric emptying rate was 71.60 min. There were no significant differences in the gastric emptying rates between patients who had reflux episodes beginning in the first 30 min of the study and those who had reflux episodes in the last 30 min of the study (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study has suggested that the number of reflux episodes were not related with the gastric emptying rate. However, reflux could be observed in a higher frequency before gastric emptying, which also suggested that a 30-min period may be sufficient when reflux is shown early. In negative cases, a 60-min acquisition time is recommended for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux.