Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy (UGF) in infants and children and to investigate factors affecting results and the preliminary diagnoses of children referred to the radiology department with suspicion for gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and structural abnormalities of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Material and Methods: Patients between the ages of 1 month and 18 years who underwent upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy at the Radiology Department of Dr. Sami Ulus Research and Training Hospital between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 were included in the study. The files of patients were reviewed retrospectively.

Results: Of the 76 patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy, 46.1% were male and median age was 10 months. These diagnosis were distiributed as the following; mild GER in 2.6% (n=2), moderate GER in 18.4% (n=14), and severe GER in 38.2% (n=29). Accompanying anatomic pathologies were: malrotation (5.3%), operated esophageal atresia  and  diaphragmatic  hernia  (2.6%),  organoaxial  volvulus  and  prepyloric  web  (1.3%).  Reasons  of  requesting upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy were persistent vomiting in 40.8% (n=31), intermittent vomiting in 10.5% (n=8), and coughing in 11.8% (n=9). The most common accompanying pathologies were prematurity and growth retardation in 6.6% (n=5). 74.4% the children <1 year of age received a diagnosis for GER, while this ratio was 39.4 in those ≥1 year of age. The incidence of findings conclusive for GER in patients younger than 1 year of age was found to be significantly higher (p=0.002). GER findings were present in 74.2% (n=23) of patients who had persistent vomiting, while they were present in 48.9% (n=22) of patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy for other reasons. This difference was also statistically significant (p=0.027).

Conclusion:  In cases where structural abnormalities is suspected, if the patient is younger than 1 year of age or has persistent vomiting, upper gastrointestinal fluoroscopy may indeed be useful to confirm the diagnosis. However, structural abnormalities were detected in very few of those who were referred to us for UGF investigation. From this point of view, it would be more appropriate for clinicians to recommend UGF in more suitable cases to prevent the overuse of UGF in pediatric patients

Keywords: Gastrointestinal System, Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Gastroesophageal Reflux

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Üner Ç, Ekşioğlu A. Factors Affecting The Diagnosis Of Gastroesophageal Reflux In Pediatric Patients Undergoing Upper Gastrointestinal Fluoroscopy. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2020 May 29 [cited 2025 Aug. 23];14(3):268-73. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/696