Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition
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J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. · May 1992
Ultrasonography and gastric emptying: evaluation in infants with gastroesophageal reflux.
We have applied ultrasonography to the evaluation of gastric emptying in children. Two different populations have been investigated: normal children and children with gastroesophageal reflux. All the patients were less than 6 months of age. ⋯ Patients with gastroesophageal reflux showed three different kind of gastric emptying: (a) normal gastric emptying in 20% of cases, (b) abnormal gastric emptying in 15% of cases, and (c) intermediate cases in which the plateau curve is abnormal but the end time of gastric emptying is normal. We defined these three kinds of curves as type I or normal, type III or abnormal, and type II or intermediate. The estimate of frequency in patients with gastroesophageal reflux is similar to the reported data of the literature.
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J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. · Jan 1992
Iron absorption and iron deficiency in infants and children with gastrointestinal diseases.
Iron status, iron absorption, and intestinal blood loss were studied in 199 children undergoing diagnostic evaluation for suspected malabsorption. Evaluation of iron status included hematological indices, serum ferritin, and transferrin saturation. Iron absorption was assessed by the increment of serum iron after an oral iron load. ⋯ Iron malabsorption was less common among patients with adequate iron nutritional status than in those with iron deficiency. Iron malabsorption appears to play a major role in the pathogenesis of iron deficiency in patients with malabsorption. The iron absorption test shows greater sensitivity as a screening test for upper intestinal malabsorption than the D-xylose absorption test.
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Verotoxin-producing E. coli (most frequently E. coli O157) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Cattle, meat products, and other sources have been found to harbor these organisms. Isolation of E. coli O157:H7 on MacConkey-sorbitol agar is diagnostic, yet the bacteria are difficult to detect after the first week of infection. ⋯ Evidence supporting the etiologic role of different verotoxins is reviewed. Treatment remains supportive since the use of antibiotics and antimotility agents can lead to poorer outcomes. Recommendations for prevention are presented.
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J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. · Nov 1990
Gastrointestinal manifestations of hemolytic uremic syndrome: recognition of pancreatitis.
A retrospective study of 76 children with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) who were admitted to the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. Alberta between January 1982 and December 1988 was undertaken to explore the gastrointestinal manifestations of the syndrome. The children (mean age of 4.0 +/- 3.1 years) presented primarily during the summer months with a microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (Hgb 94 +/- 26 g/L), thrombocytopenia (platelets 87 +/- 83 X 10(9)/L), and acute renal failure (oligoanuria with a BUN of 26 +/- 15 mmol/L, and a creatinine of 294 +/- 90 mumol/L). ⋯ The following symptoms and gastrointestinal manifestations of HUS were noted: fever (33%), vomiting (80%), abdominal discomfort/tenderness (59%), diarrhea (100%), hemorrhagic colitis (79%), rectal prolapse (13%), colonic stricture (3%), colonic perforation (1%), intussusception (1%), indirect hyperbilirubinemia (49%), and elevated hepatocellular enzymes (58%). Of the last 29 children studied, 19 (66%) had elevated levels of amylase and lipase in the presence of acute renal failure, and six (21%) had a marked elevation of lipase (more than four times normal) with additional supportive evidence of pancreatitis. The additional supportive evidence included persistent elevation of lipase after the resolution of acute renal failure in four children, a marked increment in lipase in association with abdominal pain and an abnormal ultrasound of the pancreas after the initiation of oral feeding in a fifth child, and pancreatic exocrine and endocrine necrosis at autopsy in a sixth child.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)