title: Barostat testing in children with functional gastrointestinal disorders.
abstract: Children and adolescents with chronic defecation disorders and chronic abdominal pain without obvious organic etiology form a challenging group of patients for pediatric health-care professionals. The pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying such functional gastroenterology disorders are poorly understood. Research studies on the use of the barostat have been aimed to increase our knowledge in this area. Barostat testing allows defining visceral hyper- or hyposensitivity, contractility, and compliance of the gut. This review focuses on rectal barostat studies performed in children with abdominal pain, constipation, and fecal incontinence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Emma Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.m.vandenberg@amc.nl
authors.forename: Maartje M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
authors.forename: Rijk
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Ginkel
authors.forename: Hayat M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mousa
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Benninga
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004106:Dilatation; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011312:Pressure; D012007:Rectum / Q000503:physiopathology; D014781:Viscera / Q000503:physiopathology