Abdominal pain in children with gastroesophageal reflux

Author: Indrė Zubraitė Title: \"Abdominal pain in children with gastroesophageal reflux\". Objective: to find out the significance of abdominal pain in children with gastroesophageal reflux. Tasks: 1. Determine the frequency of abdominal pain in children with gastroesophageal reflux. 2. Find out the relationship between abdominal pain in children and the underlying symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. 3. Determine the association of abdominal pain with the changes found during oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. 4. To evaluate the dynamics of abdominal pain in children with gastroesophageal reflux after treatment. Methods: The reseach was carried out at the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics Paediatrics department. A retrospective analysis of outpatient cards from 2016 - 2017 was performed. Clinical data, results of diagnostic tests and treatment was analized. The data analysis was performed using Microsoft Office Excel 2016 and the IBM SPSS 20.0 software package. The results are considered statistically reliable when p 0.05). The most common complaint was abdominal pain that afflicted 76.7% of the examined individuals. In 89.4% of the cases abdominal pain localized in the epigastric area (p 0.05), except for the association with upper respiratory tract symptoms (p = 0.015). There was no statistically significant association between abdominal pain and pathological findings in FEGDS (p > 0.05). The most frequently used drug for treatment was omeprazole (p < 0.05). A significant link between treatment and abdominal pain regression was established (p < 0.029). Conclusions: 1. 76.7% of children felt abdominal pain. It was the main symptom for 81.8% of girls and 67.7% of boys 2. The same symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were identified in all age groups from 2 to 17 years. An important link between abdominal pain and other symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract has not been established, however, it is more likely that patients with abdominal pain will show fewer symptoms of the upper respiratory tract. 3. There was no relationship between abdominal pain and pathological findings in FEGDS; therefore, according to the results of the study, abdominal pain should not be considered as a warning symptom of the complications of the gastroesophageal reflux disease. 4. Treatment with proton pump inhibitors effectively reduces the frequency of abdominal pain in children with GERD