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

The Effect of Gastrostomy Placement on Gastric Function in Children: a Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

A gastrostomy placement is frequently performed in pediatric patients who require long-term enteral tube feeding. Unfortunately, postoperative complications such as leakage, feeding intolerance, and gastroesophageal reflux frequently occur. These complications may be due to postoperative gastric dysmotility. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of gastrostomy placement on gastric emptying in children.

METHODS

A prospective study was performed including 50 children undergoing laparoscopic gastrostomy. Before and 3 months after gastrostomy, assessment was performed using the 13C-octanoic acid breath test, 24-h pH monitoring, and reflux symptom questionnaires.

RESULTS

Gastric half-emptying time significantly increased from the 57th to the 79th percentile (p < 0.001) after gastrostomy (p < 0.001). Fifty percent of patients with normal preoperative gastric emptying develop delayed gastric emptying (DGE, P > 95) after gastrostomy (p = 0.01). Most patients (≥75%) with leakage and/or feeding intolerance after gastrostomy had DGE after operation. A decrease in gastric emptying was associated with an increase in esophageal acid exposure time (r = 0.375, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Gastrostomy placement in children causes a significant delay in gastric emptying. Postoperative DGE was associated with gastroesophageal reflux and was found in most patients with postoperative leakage and feeding intolerance. These negative physiologic effects should be taken into account when considering gastrostomy placement in children.

The assessment of children with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux: An Otorhinolaringological perspective

The assessment of pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is controversial. Otorhinolaryngologists may play a role in the evaluation of children with suspected LPR detecting typical airway endoscopic findings and/or associated diseases and may help in the selection of children to be subjected to further instrumental tests. In this perspective the present review aims at examining the available evidence in the literature regarding the assessment of LPR in children. After careful literature search there are no current validated symptoms assessment questionnaires for LPR evaluation in children; flexible fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopy remains controversial as a diagnostic tool in suspect LPR cases; even though the multichannel intraluminal impedance with pH monitoring has been proposed as the instrumental gold standard, further evidence need to be found for validation in children with typical features of LPR.

Upper gastrointestinal motility: prenatal development and problems in infancy

Deglutition, or swallowing, refers to the process of propulsion of a food bolus from the mouth into the stomach and involves the highly coordinated interplay of swallowing and breathing. At 34 weeks gestational age most neonates are capable of successful oral feeding if born at this time; however, the maturation of respiration is still in progress at this stage. Infants can experience congenital and developmental pharyngeal and/or gastrointestinal motility disorders, which might manifest clinically as gastro-oesophageal reflux (GER) symptoms, feeding difficulties and/or refusal, choking episodes and airway changes secondary to micro or overt aspiration. These problems might lead to impaired nutritional intake and failure to thrive. These gastrointestinal motility disorders are mostly classified according to the phase of swallowing in which they occur, that is, the oral preparatory, oral, pharyngeal and oesophageal phases. GER is a common phenomenon in infancy and is referred to as GERD when it causes troublesome complications. GER is predominantly caused by transient relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter. In oesophageal atresia, oesophageal motility disorders develop in almost all patients after surgery; however, a congenital origin of disordered motility has also been proposed. This Review highlights the prenatal development of upper gastrointestinal motility and describes the most common motility disorders that occur in early infancy.

Tube feeding increases the gastric-emptying rate determined by gastroesophageal scintigraphy

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine whether tube feeding affects the rate of gastric emptying determined by gastroesophageal reflux scintigraphy in pediatric patients.

METHODS

Gastroesophageal reflux scintigraphy studies of 700 pediatric patients aged 1 week to 16 years were retrospectively analyzed. From these, 350 subjects received their study meal via a feeding tube, and 350 subjects received their meal as oral feeding. Gastric-emptying rate at 60 minutes was calculated, and the results compared. Stratification analysis for age, sex, and type and volume of administered meal was also performed.

RESULTS

The average rate of the gastric emptying was higher in the tube feeding compared with oral feeding group (52.9% ± 17.9% vs 44.2% ± 15.1% gastric emptying at 1 hour, P < 0.01). The prevalence of fast gastric emptying, defined as greater than 50% emptying at 60 minutes, was also higher in the tube feeding group, being registered in 59.7% (209/350 cases) versus only 31.4% (110/350 cases) in the oral feeding group, P < 0.01. The difference persisted following stratification analysis for sex, age, and type and volume of ingested meal.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that tube feeding increases the rate of gastric emptying determined by gastroesophageal reflux scintigraphy in pediatric patients. The effect proved independent on such factors as sex, age, and type or volume of ingested meal.

The Scintigraphic Findings of Gastroesophageal Reflux in Children is Related to Body Weight?

Background

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common cause of children admissions to pediatric gastroenterology unit and affects about 30% of pediatric population. Body weight and height percentiles of children with GERD and their relationship between presence and the severity of reflux on scintigraphic images were studied.

Methods

Patients who underwent reflux scintigraphy between 2005 - 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Among 200 patients, 49 patients were involved that their ages were ranging from 0 to 18 years old and body weight and height percentiles were recorded. Accurately 37 MBq (1 mCi) 99mTc-MAA in 100 - 150 mL of milk was ingested by the patient. Presence, number, duration and level of reflux were evaluated on the dynamic images. Presences of reflux within last ten minute were also recorded. Region-of-interests were drawn on esophagus and stomach and reflux ratio (RR) was calculated.

Results

The ratio of the presence of reflux which occurred within the last ten minutes was significantly higher in children with low body weight percentile. High-level reflux frequency was higher in these children than in normal’s. Presence of reflux which occurred within the last ten minutes was related with low body weight percentile.

Conclusions

If reflux is shown within the last ten minutes and there is high level of reflux, the clinician should be warned about possible low body weight percentile in the future and scintigraphic study should be a guide or a reference for the assessment of more effective treatment methods.

Gastric emptying in children with gastroesophageal reflux and in healthy children

PURPOSE

The aim of this report is to examine whether children with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) have delayed gastric emptying compared to healthy children.

METHODS

All patients had GER verified by 24-hour pH monitoring. Gastric emptying of cow's milk was examined by radionuclide scintigraphy in 51 patients with GER and in 24 controls. Gastric emptying rate was expressed as exponential half time (T1/2).

RESULTS

Median age was 4.4 years [range 0.1-15.4] in patients and 6.1 years [range 2.5-10.0] in controls (p=.10). A wide range of gastric emptying rates was observed both in GER patients [range 16-121] and controls [range 29-94]. One GER patient (2%) had slower gastric emptying (T1/2=121 min) than the healthy child with the longest T1/2 (94 min). Mean T1/2 was 49 minutes (SD 20.1) and 46 minutes (SD 14.2) in GER patients and controls, respectively (p=.51).

CONCLUSIONS

Gastric emptying rate of milk was not significantly different between children with GER and healthy children. A wide range of gastric emptying rates was observed in both groups.

Challenges in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in infants and children

INTRODUCTION

The diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is challenging. The wide variation in symptoms is a major reason for the controversies. Since the expression of GERD varies from nonerosive reflux disease over Barrett's esophagus to chronic respiratory disease, it is clear that not one investigation technique will provide an answer in all situations.

AREAS COVERED

Relevant literature published in PubMed and CINAHL and recent guidelines were collected and reviewed. Diagnostic tests were evaluated by the following criteria: ability to confirm a diagnosis, to exclude other diagnoses with similar presentation, to detect complications, to predict disease severity.

EXPERT OPINION

Multiple intraluminal impedance (MII) is extensively evaluated in recent years, but other new techniques and measurements were also developed, mainly to diagnose extra-esophageal symptoms. Although evidence for a "relation" between GER and extra-esophageal symptoms is demonstrated, the "causality" between both is not proven. MII measures in a reliable reproducible way non-acid or weakly acid reflux. However, as long as medical therapeutic options are limited to anti-acid medications, MII lacks therapeutic implications, and therefore clinical impact. Since investigations for GER are invasive or cause irradiation, normal ranges cannot be established. As a consequence, the "old" techniques remain the standard diagnostic tools: barium meal for anatomy, endoscopy for esophagitis, and pH monitoring to demonstrate a time relation between (acid) GER and symptoms. MII provides more information than pH monitoring, but is more expensive and has limited therapeutic impact as long as drugs are mainly "anti-acid."

Effects of the frame acquisition rate on the sensitivity of gastro-oesophageal reflux scintigraphy

OBJECTIVE

To compare the sensitivity of gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) scintigraphy at 5-s and 60-s frame acquisition rates.

METHODS

GOR scintigraphy of 50 subjects (1 month-20 years old, mean 42 months) were analysed concurrently using 5-s and 60-s acquisition frames. Reflux episodes were graded as low if activity was detected in the distal half of the oesophagus and high if activity was detected in its upper half or in the oral cavity. For comparison purposes, detected GOR in any number of 5-s frames corresponding to one 60-s frame was counted as one episode.

RESULTS

A total of 679 episodes of GOR to the upper oesophagus were counted using a 5-s acquisition technique. Only 183 of such episodes were detected on 60-s acquisition images. To the lower oesophagus, a total of 1749 GOR episodes were detected using a 5-s acquisition technique and only 1045 episodes using 60-s acquisition frames (these also included the high-level GOR on 5-s frames counted as low level on 60-s acquisition frames). 10 patients had high-level GOR episodes that were detected only using a 5-s acquisition technique, leading to a different diagnosis in these patients. No correlation between the number of reflux episodes and the gastric emptying rates was noted.

CONCLUSION

The 5-s frame acquisition technique is more sensitive than the 60-s frame acquisition technique for detecting both high- and low-level GOR.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

Brief GOR episodes with a relatively low number of radioactive counts are frequently indistinguishable from intense background activity on 60-s acquisition frames.