Is gastroscopy harmful to children?

Gastroscopy can be applied not only to adult patients but also to pediatric patients. Many parents are worried that gastroscopy may cause considerable harm to their children's bodies, so they are afraid to let their children undergo gastroscopy. In fact, this is a wrong concept. Because there are now gastroscopes specifically suitable for examining children in clinical practice, with a small tube diameter and little damage to the child's gastric mucosa, parents can rest assured.

1. Is gastroscopy harmful to children?

Gastroscopy is currently the most reliable and intuitive method for diagnosing esophageal, gastric and duodenal diseases. Other examination methods, including upper gastrointestinal barium meal radiography, electrogastrogram and gastrointestinal B-ultrasound, cannot replace it. Moreover, there are now gastroscopes with smaller diameters suitable for children in clinical practice, so parents do not need to worry. In fact, if the indications are met, age is not a contraindication for gastroscopy. It is just that the models of endoscopes used are different, and currently the smooth progress of the examination can be guaranteed. Children under 6 years old cannot cooperate due to their young age, so gastroscopy can be completed under intravenous combined anesthesia.

2. In which cases should children undergo gastroscopy?

1. Recurrent abdominal pain, especially upper abdominal pain.

2. X-ray barium meal examination reveals ulcers or filling defects, polyps or masses, but their nature cannot be determined.

3. Unexplained upper gastrointestinal bleeding requires emergency gastroscopy.

4. Those who have difficulty swallowing, swallowing pain and burning sensation behind the sternum.

5. There are obvious gastrointestinal symptoms, such as frequent vomiting, anorexia, acid reflux, belching, upper abdominal distension, etc.

6. Pyloric obstruction of unknown cause.

7. Regular follow-up review of certain upper gastrointestinal diseases and evaluation of the efficacy before and after drug treatment or after surgery.

8. There are systemic symptoms related to the stomach, such as unexplained anemia, weight loss, etc.

9. Treat some upper gastrointestinal bleeding, esophageal varices, polyps and foreign bodies, and reposition gastric torsion.

3. Precautions for children undergoing gastroscopy

1. In order to clearly observe the gastrointestinal mucosa, you should eat easily digestible food with little residue, such as porridge, for dinner the day before the gastroscopy. Do not consume any food or drink after 8 pm the night before the gastroscopy. Do not eat or drink water on the morning of gastroscopy. It should be noted that breastfeeding babies should not drink milk for more than 6 hours.

2. On the day of the examination: Let your child wear loose-fitting clothes and not wear pants that are too tight. To reduce saliva secretion and throat discomfort, take 2 ml to 3 ml of defoaming agent and local throat anesthetic orally 15 to 30 minutes before the examination.

3. After the examination: If it is a painless gastroscopy, you can eat after about two hours of waiting for the anesthetic effect to wear off. If a biopsy is taken, you can eat warm liquid food after 2 hours. You can eat rice noodles, noodles, porridge, milk and other foods on the same day to reduce friction on the injured surface of the gastric mucosa. You may experience more flatulence and burping after the examination, but these symptoms will subside soon.