Gastroenterology

Diagnosing GERD in Neonates? Be Cautious
Diagnosing GERD in Neonates? Be Cautious 150 150 Jeb Phillips

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is likely over-diagnosed in neonates, leading to unnecessary and harmful treatment. Approximately 10 percent of infants born preterm in the United States are diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But it’s almost certain that not all of those babies actually have GERD, say neonatologists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The probable over diagnosis leads to…

One Dose Probiotic Biofilm Protects Against NEC
One Dose Probiotic Biofilm Protects Against NEC 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Probiotic biofilm enables the beneficial bacteria to withstand stomach acid, promote microbial activity and decrease intestinal inflammation. A single dose of a probiotic biofilm grown on microspheres prevented or significantly reduced the severity of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in animal models of the disease, researchers show. This delivery method not only appears to protect against NEC…

When Should Kids With Severe Functional Constipation Have Surgery?
When Should Kids With Severe Functional Constipation Have Surgery? 150 150 Jeb Phillips

A protocol developed by pediatric surgeons and gastroenterologists allows patients to receive specific surgical interventions that will be most beneficial – and allows many patients originally referred for surgery to avoid it altogether. Children with severe functional constipation are most often referred for surgery after failure of medical management. But there’s a problem with this…

InSight: Restoring Normal Habits
InSight: Restoring Normal Habits 471 285 Tiasha Letostak, PhD

SACRAL NERVE STIMULATION (SNS) is a new treatment that helps control urinary incontinence and fecal soiling. For some children, the nerves that control urination and bowel movements do not work correctly. The SNS unit consists of a small, safe battery and wire under the skin and sends signals to the sacral nerve. The signals help restore…

Enteral Therapy Thursday: Professionals Sharing the Patient Experience
Enteral Therapy Thursday: Professionals Sharing the Patient Experience 150 150 Jennifer Smith, MS, RD, CSP, LD, LMT

A multidisciplinary team puts themselves on enteral nutrition for a day to gain insights into the patient experience. Enteral nutrition for Crohn’s disease is a well-established practice using liquid formulas to treat Crohn’s disease.  Patients who choose this form of treatment either drink the prescribed amount of formula or receive the formula via a feeding…

Colorectal Cancer Screening and the Pediatric Subspecialist
Colorectal Cancer Screening and the Pediatric Subspecialist 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Screening a 15-year-old for pre-cancerous polyps may seem a bit unusual, as colon cancer is widely considered an adult disease. But for children with a family history of Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that increases the risk of colon and other cancers, life-threatening malignancies can develop as early as the mid-teens. Fewer than one in…

Delays and Difficulties: Fecal Microbiota Transplants as Therapy
Delays and Difficulties: Fecal Microbiota Transplants as Therapy 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Use of fecal microbiota transplantation to treat a wide range of disorders is in limbo while the FDA decides how to regulate the therapy. Between 1997 and 2007, Clostridium difficile bacterial infections among U.S. children more than doubled and its mortality rate among all U.S. cases more than quadrupled. Clinicians are turning to a number of treatment…

Using Zinc for Growth Delays in Babies Born Preterm
Using Zinc for Growth Delays in Babies Born Preterm 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Zinc supplementation in extremely low birth-weight (ELBW) infants with chronic lung disease improves weight gain and linear growth, according to a retrospective study performed at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The study is one of the first to look at the association between zinc supplementation and growth in ELBW babies with chronic lung disease, also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia.…

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