Gastro-duodenal damage due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in children

Thirteen juvenile chronic arthritis patients with abdominal symptoms related to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy were endoscoped before and after a 6-week course of either misoprostol or ranitidine therapy. Major presenting symptoms were generalized abdominal pain and nausea. Symptoms did not correlate well with endoscopic findings which revealed no evidence of ulceration and minimal erosive damage. Five patients had mild erythema or gastritis. Bleeding lesions were confined to small numbers of petechiae. Following treatment with either misoprostol or ranitidine, patients improved symptomatically without a corresponding improvement on endoscopic and histological examination of stomach and duodenum. Both treatments were well tolerated.