The value of paediatric upper gastrointestinal contrast studies: a Nairobi study

Abstract

In this prospective study carried out over a period of 6 months (July December 1998) to determine the value of paediatric upper gastrointestinal studies, a total of 67 children under 5 years of age were investigated. 58.1% of the children were female. The most common radiological finding was gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) which was found in 44.8% of the patients. The male to female ratio was 1:2. A third of these patients with GER were found to be underweight for age compared to the 7 out of 30 patients who presented with recurrent pneumonia. There is a likelihood that the main complication of GER is failure to thrive and more studies are needed to evaluate this relationship further.