EROSIVE ESOPHAGITIS IN SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN (FIVE-YEAR OBSERVATION PERIOD)

Abstract

Introduction The prevalence of GERD can vary from 8.8 to 33.1%, and the incidence has been steadily increasing in all regions of the world. Thus, recent epidemiological studies have found an increase in the prevalence of GERD in Western Europe and North America by 4% per year. In Asia, during the period 1989/1990 -1999/2000, the incidence of erosive esophagitis increased from 2.0% to 8.4%. Significantly less data has been obtained on the prevalence of GERD in childhood. According to some data, the frequency of detection of reflux esophagitis in children with diseases of the digestive system can range from 8.7% to 17%. One study showed an increase in erosive-ulcerative forms in the structure of esophagitis in children over 5 years - from 12.5% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2010. Objective. To determine the dynamics of the prevalence of reflux esophagitis in school-age children with symptoms of dyspepsia over a five-year observation period. Materials and methods. The retrospective study included 2935 children. The study was conducted based on the results of the work of the city endoscopy room in Barnaul for 2018-2022. Inclusion criteria: Age from 7 to 18 years; Primary fibrogastroduodenoscopy; Presence of dyspeptic complaints; Informed consent to conduct an endoscopic examination. The presence of endoscopic signs of catarrhal and erosive esophagitis was taken into account. In the case of the presence of erosive esophagitis, the stage of the disease was determined according to the Los Angeles classification. Indicators such as the proportion of patients with signs of the disease per year, annual absolute increase/decrease, and annual growth/decrease rates were analyzed. Results. The proportion of patients with endoscopic signs of esophagitis in the period from 2018 to 2022 decreased from 68.8% to 50.9% At the same time, the proportion of patients with erosive esophagitis remained virtually unchanged over five years, ranging from 26.8% to 30.5% in different years. In the structure of erosive esophagitis, there is an increase in the proportion of patients with a milder form of erosive esophagitis (stage A) from 58.7% to 79.1% and a decrease in patients with more severe forms (stages B and C) from 59.9% to 20.9% Conclusions. Among patients with symptoms of dyspepsia, the proportion of patients with erosive esophagitis did not change during a five-year follow-up. Changes in the structure of erosive esophagitis were noted with an increase in the proportion of patients with esophagitis stage A and a decrease in the proportion of patients with esophagitis stages B and C.