Features of the course and comparative characteristics of gastroesophageal reflux disease in pediatric patients with esophageal atresia after primary repair
Authors:   SI Republican Scientific and practical Center of Pediatric Surgery, Minsk, Belarus, Aksionchyk M.G. , Marakhousk K.Y. ,   SI Republican Scientific and practical Center of Pediatric Surgery, Minsk, Belarus, Averin V.I. ,   EE Belarusian State Medical University, Minsk, Belarus
Published: February 2021

The aim is to evaluate clinical data and data of intraesophageal 24-hour pH/impedance measurement in pediatric patients with corrected esophageal atresia. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis was carried out on the basis of inpatient records of 43 pediatric patients with corrected esophageal atresia (CEA) aged from 1 to 14 years, who were examined at the State Institution «Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Pediatric Surgery» from November 2017 to March 2020. Average age of the group: 5.09±1.2 years, of which 23 boys (53.5%), 20 girls (46.5%). All patients with CEA underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and intraesophageal 24-hour pH/impedance measurement while off acid-suppressive therapy. Results. Depending on the results of pH/impedance measurement, the patients with CEA were divided into two groups: CEA with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – 20 (54.1%) and CEA without GERD – 17 (45.9%). The most common symptom in patients with CEA was cough in both groups, in 26 (70.27%) children. Only in 4 out of 37 patients with CEA no symptoms during the time of the study were registered. Upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy showed that 16 (43.2%) children with CEA had grade A esophagitis (according to the Los Angeles classification), 1 (2.7%) had gastric metaplasia of the esophageal mucosa, and 6 (16.2%) had chronic gastritis. EGD data did not reveal any significant differences between CEA patients with GERD and CEA patients without GERD (P=0.819). When comparing pH/impedance parameters, a significant difference (P<0.005) was obtained for the following parameters: reflux index, number of reflux episodes, distal mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) and duration of the longest reflux episode. In addition, the positive association of symptoms with episodes of refluxes (>95%) in the group of CEA patients without GERD was significantly higher than in CEA patients with GERD: 3/20 (15%) versus 8/17 (47.06%). Conclusions. The prevalence of GERD in patients with CEA in this study was 54.06%. Extraesophageal symptoms (in particular, cough) are prevalent in patients with CEA (70.3%). GERD can be asymptomatic in patients with CEA. In this study, 15% of CEA patients with confirmed GERD were asymptomatic. Patients with CEA in the study groups rarely had typical GERD symptoms (heartburn, regurgitation, chest pain and belching). The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The research protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the institutions indicated in the article. Informed consent of parents and children was obtained for the research. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Key words: corrected esophageal atresia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophagitis, children, esophageal 24-hour pH/impedance measurement.