Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux and esophagitis by endoscopy data in children in different age groups
Aim of the study. A study of the occurrence of gastroesophageal reflux disease signs in children with diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract during endoscopic examination according to reversibility data for the city of Tomsk and the Tomsk Region. Materials and methods. Analysis of the results of 3863 endoscopic studies of patients aged from 1 to 17 was carried out. The total number of endoscopic studies of chronic diseases of the upper digestive tract, the number of patients with endoscopic signs of gastroesophageal reflux disease, and the dependence of GERDsigns occurrence frequency on gender and age were estimated.Results. Endoscopic signs of gastroesophageal reflux disease were detected in 528 out of 3863 examined children with diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract, which amounted to 13,6%. The most common non-erosive form of gastroesophageal reflux disease is 1st class reflux esophagitis in the absence of signs of motor disorders in gastroesophageal transition (46,1% of cases). 1st class reflux esophagitis in combination with A degree cardia insufficiency was found in 15,4%, while 1st class reflux esophagitis in combination with B degree cardia insufficiency was observed in 1,9% of cases. A and B degree cardia insufficiency in the absence of changes in the esophagus mucous membrane was diagnosed in 6,9% and 17,9% of cases respectively. Complicated forms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, namely, erosive esophagitis, esophageal stenosis, esophageal chalasia, were detected in a total of 1% of patients. Conclusion. In the structure of upper gastrointestinal tractdiseases in childhood, gastroesophageal disease is detected in 13.6% of cases. The vast majority of patients (99%) are children with non-erosive forms of the disease. With a prolonged chronic course of erosive esophagitis, Barrett’s metaplasia may develop. Patients with this diagnosis require long-term follow-up and treatment with periodic histological monitoring.