[Esophageal stricture as a complication of gastroesophageal reflux in children]

General practitioners and paediatricians often get in contact with children who present with regurgitation and vomiting. To some extent, regurgitation is a normal situation in infants during their first months of life. Abnormal gastrooesophageal reflux, however, should be diagnosed and treated adequately, as there is a risk of complications. At the Department of Paediatrics, Haukeland Hospital, Bergen we have diagnosed oesophageal strictures due to undiagnosed gastrooesophageal reflux in six children. One patient had previously been treated for gastrooesophageal reflux during infancy. The main reasons for admitting the children were dysphagia and weight loss. When the correct diagnosis had been established, the patients were treated with cisapride and omeprazole orally. Several dilatations of the strictures were performed by upper endoscopy. A Nissen's fundoplication has been performed in two patients and is probably necessary to undertake in the remaining four. Clinical awareness of gastrooesophageal reflux is important, since undiagnosed reflux carries a risk of oesophagitis and stricture formation.