Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease

Abstract

One of the most common complaints referred to primary caregivers in infancy is reflux type emesis in the infant. less frequently and sometimes posing as chest pain and discomfort upon swallowing, relux can also present in the older child and adolescent. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can complicate the management of the child with neurodevelopmental disability wherein a more severe pattern of disease is exacerbated by delayed, sometimes atypical presentation. Moreover, even in otherwise healthy children, there is increasing recognition of non-gastrointestinal presentations of gastroesophagael reflux disease (GERD) that span the gamut from failure to thrive, dental erosion and complicated asthma.