Diagnostic and management problems of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease in children

Reflux is a common pediatric disorder and an association between reflux and otolaryngological conditions has been described. However, to prove a causal relationship a pathophysiological pathway must be identified, diagnostic test with high specificity and sensitivity must be developed and conservative or surgical treatment of reflux should be shown to predictably improve the otolaryngological problems. This review study aims at examining the available evidence for the above controversial issues.

Articles on pediatric laryngopharyngeal reflux published in English during the last decade were searched using Ovid and PubMed.

A lack of consensus was found in four separate but interdependent areas: clinical manifestations, diagnostic testing, interpretation of findings and treatment. Although clinical experience and uncontrolled case series suggest that laryngopharyngeal reflux may possibly contribute to apnea, recurrent upper respiratory infections, laryngeal symptoms (mainly laryngomalacia and subglottic stenosis), sinusitis and otitis convincing data are lacking. For pediatric studies, the diagnostic role of pH monitoring, barium esophagram, scintigraphy, impedance monitoring, laryngoscopic examination, laryngeal biopsy and symptom assessment questionnaires remain to be defined. Interpretation of pharyngeal reflux events is controversial and the lack of established normative values as well as the existing variability in the diagnostic criteria (reflux definition, duration and number of pathological reflux events) limits the ability to directly compare results. Proposed laryngopharyngeal reflux treatment (lifestyle modification, medical or surgical therapy) is mostly empiric, with no significant placebo-controlled trials of treatment and outcomes.

Limited evidence exists to support a causative relationship between reflux and any otorhinolaryngological condition or the effectiveness of treatment. Epidemiological and large-scale prospective controlled studies are required to clarify these issues.