Efficiency of gastroscopy in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract diseases: a retrospective of 442 pediatric patients

Objective: To investigate the gastroscopy characteristics of children with digestive tract symptoms. Methods: A total of 442 children (age: 52 days-15 years) with gastrointestinal tract symptoms undergoing gastroscopy in the department of pediatrics of Hangzhou First People’s Hospital from January 2010 to October 2013 were included in this study. The features of gastroscopy and biopsy pathology were analyzed, as well as the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection. Results: Two hundred and fifty-two cases showed abdominal pain and/or discomfort. Others showed concurrent symptoms, such as sour regurgitation and belching (n=56), nausea and vomiting (n=102), poor appetite (n=38), hematemesis and dark stools (n=15), chest pain (n=17), erythra in both lower extremities (n=12), and dysphagia (n=1). Among the 442 patients receiving gastroscopy examination, 248 (56.1%) were diagnosed with chronic superficial gastritis or antral gastritis, while the other showed concurrent conditions, including bile regurgitation (14.1%), duodenal bulb inflammation and/or gastric ulcer (12.9%), erosive gastritis (4.6%), esophagitis (2.3%), and foreign bodies in the esophagus (1.2%). Three hundred and one patients received histopathology examination in this study. A total of 246 patients (81.7%) were confirmed with chronic superficial gastritis according to the pathological report. Among these patients, 41 were in the active phase (16.7%) concurrent with 7 intestinal memplasia (2.8%), 11 ymphocyte proliferation in stoma (4.5%), and 2 eosinophilic granulocyte proliferation in stoma (0.8%). In addition, 55 were confirmed with atrophic gastritis (18.3%), including 42 (76.4%) with mild atrophy and 13 (23.6%) with medium atrophy. Conclusion: Gastroscopy is effective for the diagnosis of digestive tract disease in pediatric patients.