Paediatric gastroenterology

Gastroenterological problems are the most common problems in paediatrics (with the possible exception of respiratory disease). Diarrhoea and fluid management are the bread and butter of paediatrics - it is essentially about differentiating between seriously ill and mildly ill children.

A complement to a meal for many, but in paediatrics, you can expect this to be replaced with diarrhoea and fluid management

Abdominal pain can often be indiciative of serious or life-threatening pathology and again detection of the seriously sick child is essential.

Below are the main problems covered by paediatric gastroenterology. These are not complete differentials but broad categories into which each of these differentials fit.

Vomiting

Be careful when given the symptom of 'vomiting' by parents. Often, this can be something physiological which is not due to a disease process and does not need to be treated.

• Feeding
• Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease
• Gastroenteritis
• Other Infectious Causes Of Vomiting
• Malformations Of The GI Tract

Diarrhoea

Probably the most common symptom in paediatrics, it is massively important to be able to pick out the serious causes of this symptom. Toddler's diarrhoea is benign and a normal part of childhood whereas inflammatory bowel disease is a serious long-term illness with huge consequences.

• Toddler's Diarrhoea
• Gastroenteritis
• Malabsoprtion
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abdominal Pain

This can be split further into acute and recurrent/chronic abdo pain.

Acute

As mentioned above, this condition can by symptomatic of a range of illnesses which are fatal if untreated. These fatal illnesses are generally surgical in nature and, as such, acute abdominal pain should be considered surgical until proven otherwise.

• Appendicitis
• Intussusception
• Meckel's Diverticulum
• Malrotation

Recurrent/Chronic

• IBS
• Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia
• Gastritis And Ulcers
• Abdominal Migraine

Constipation

Constipation is the passing of painful, hard and infrequent stools. It is an incredibly common symptom in paediatrics so you need to know something about it's management. Occasionally, it can be a sign of more serious pathophysiology.

Failure To Thrive

Failure to thrive is a symptom which always needs to be investigated. It can be a sign of many different conditions from poor feeding to cancer to child abuse.