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Simultaneous Laryngopharyngeal and Conventional Esophageal pH Monitoring
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Simultaneous Laryngopharyngeal and Conventional Esophageal pH Monitoring

Published on: December 14, 2020

Esomeprazole for the treatment of erosive esophagitis in children: an international, multicenter, randomized,

Vasundhara Tolia1, Nader N Youssef, Mark A Gilger

  • 1Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA. vasu.tolia@gmail.com.

BMC Pediatrics
|June 15, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Esomeprazole effectively healed erosive esophagitis in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease. This proton pump inhibitor demonstrated significant healing rates for both visible and microscopic esophageal damage in young patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Pharmacology
  • Esophageal Pathology

Background:

  • Proton pump inhibitors are standard for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and erosive esophagitis.
  • Increasingly used as first-line therapy for children aged 1-17 years.
  • Study evaluated esomeprazole for healing erosive esophagitis in young children with GERD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Evaluate endoscopic healing of erosive esophagitis with esomeprazole in young children.
  • Describe esophageal histology in pediatric GERD patients.
  • Assess the efficacy of esomeprazole in healing macroscopic and microscopic esophageal lesions.

Main Methods:

  • Randomized children aged 1-11 years with confirmed GERD to esomeprazole (5-20 mg daily based on weight) for 8 weeks.
  • Follow-up endoscopy after 8 weeks to assess healing of erosions in patients with initial erosive esophagitis.
  • Histologic examination of esophageal tissue was also performed.

Main Results:

  • 49% of 109 patients had erosive esophagitis; 51% had histologic signs of reflux esophagitis without erosions.
  • 89% of 45 patients with erosive esophagitis showed complete erosion resolution after 8 weeks of esomeprazole treatment.
  • Dilation of intercellular space was observed in 24% of patients, potentially indicating microscopic esophageal damage.

Conclusions:

  • Esomeprazole (0.2-1.0 mg/kg) is effective in healing both macroscopic and microscopic erosive esophagitis in pediatric GERD patients.
  • Dilation of intercellular space may serve as a significant histologic marker for identifying erosive esophagitis in children.
  • The findings support esomeprazole's role in managing pediatric GERD with esophageal involvement.
Abstract

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