title: Diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in infants.
abstract: Gastroesophageal reflux is commonly encountered in the infant population. Most children will outgrow their reflux but some develop pervasive disease and require medical or surgical treatment. Many tools exist for use in the workup of pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease; however, the most effective method of diagnosis is not clear. Delineating which patients will benefit from more definitive therapy is a remarkable challenge in this group, often borrowing tools and principles from the adult patient population. Therefore, we reviewed the available literature to critically evaluate the merits and limitations of the current diagnostic modalities available for the evaluation of infantile gastroesophageal reflux.
authors.affiliation: Center for Prospective Clinical Trials, Department of Surgery, Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA.
authors.forename: Frankie B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Fike
authors.forename: Vincent E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Mortellaro
authors.forename: Janine N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Pettiford
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ostlie
authors.forename: Shawn D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: St Peter
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017097:Electric Impedance; D050782:Esophageal pH Monitoring; D004947:Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology