Gastroesophageal reflux in children: correlation of symptoms with 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring.

To evaluate the clinical significance of suspected symptoms of GER, 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring was performedin 55 children (mean age of 23.9 months). We used 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring as a gold standard for the diagnosis of pathological GER. The primary indication for the study included frequent vomiting, dysphagia and respiratory diseases (recurrent pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia, hyperreactive airway, apnea and stridor). Forty-seven per cent of these 55 children had pathological GER and 61.5 per cent of them were less than 1-year-old. The sensitivity of frequent vomiting, dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia as symptoms of GER was lowest (7.7%) Recurrent pneumonia had highest sensitivity (50%) but had lowest specificity (31%) among other presenting symptoms. All the other symptoms had high specificity (82.8-100%). Dysphagia, hyperreactive airway and apnea were the presenting symptoms with high positive predictability (100%, 80%, and 75% respectively). We suggest that all children who have a history of dysphagia, hyperreactive airway and apnea should be evaluated for GER.