GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX FREQUENCY OF CHILDREN IN HATAY: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Year 2014, Volume: 19 Issue: 3, 146 - 149, 06.01.2015

Fusun Aydogan , Ebuzer Kalender , Erhan Yengil , Recep Dokuyucu , Murat Tutanc

Abstract

Introduction : Gastroesophagealreflux disease (GERD) refers to clinical symptoms caused by pathological escapeof stomach contents to esophagus. Several diagnostic methods are used for thedetection of GERD in children. In our study, gastroesophageal reflux scintigraphy cases performed in our clinic between April 2012 and September2010, were retrospectively analyzed visually and quantitatively and it wasaimed to evaluate the frequency of GERD according to age groups in thepediatric population of Hatay. Material and Methods: Total122 patients aged between 2 months and 15 years with suspicion of GERD wereincluded to our study retrospectively. Patients were divided into 4 groupsaccording to their ages, and each group was divided into 2 groups as GERDpositive and negative ones. Scintigraphic imaging was performed using Tc-99mDTPA. Images were evaluated visually and quantitatively.Results: Therewere pathologic reflux in 36 of 122 patients (29.5%) according togastroesophageal reflux scintigraphy. GERD was found higher in boys than ingirls statistically (p= 0,008) and positivity rate in 0-2 age group wassignificantly higher than in other age groups (p=0.001). The index values werehigher than other age groups in 0-2 age group cases who had negativegastroesophagial reflux index and this was statistically significant (P=0,007).    Conclusion:As a result, gastroesophagial reflux scintigraphy is a well-tolerated imagingmodality that allows the diagnosis of the disease noninvasively in children byavoiding the invasive diagnostic tests.

Keywords

Gastroesophagial reflux, scintigraphy, children

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