New screening techniques, treatments shed light on gastrointestinal disorders in children

Research being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) focuses attention on the needs of pediatric patients, including screening for obesity and raising awareness of the increase risk of functional gastrointestinal disorders in athletes. Additional research emphasizes the need for more research in treating pediatric liver disease patients and shows the benefit of using smaller colonoscopies in young patients. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

"When coordinating the medical care of children, it is important for healthcare practitioners to remember that their bodies are not like adults'," said Miriam Vos, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. "Research into the screening, diagnosis and treatment of children with gastrointestinal illnesses is allowing us to better treat and manage our youngest patients to ensure better outcomes of care and higher quality of life."

Body Mass Index Screening Starting Between Ages Two to Five Years Impacts Obesity and Related Morbidity Better than Current Recommendations (Abstract #Mo1347)

Current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend that children six to 18 years old should be screened for obesity and, if needed, referred for more comprehensive therapy. However, recent research evaluating children ages two to 21 found that those aged two to five years responded nearly seven times more favorably than older children after completion of six months in the same obesity program. Investigators employed a multidisciplinary behavioral intervention program to treat pediatric obesity. Patients and caregivers were taught behavior change techniques such as goal setting, accountability, self-monitoring and stimulus control.

Dr. Sather will present these data on Monday, May 9 at 8:00 a.m. CT in Hall A, McCormick Place.

A prospective clinical trial shows that intravenous N-acetylcysteine (NAC) does not improve survival in pediatric patients with non-Acetaminophen acute liver failure (Abstract #622)

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is the treatment of choice for patients with Acetaminophen toxicity, especially when associated with liver failure, but a new study shows it does not benefit children with acute liver failure who do not have acute Acetaminophen toxicity. Investigators sought to learn whether NAC would benefit children with acute liver failure that is not caused by Acetaminophen, and whether children given NAC had improved survival at one year, including those who received a liver transplant. Previous studies suggested NAC might be helpful, but investigators found that not only was it not helpful, but children under 2 fared worse than those who received the placebo.

Dr. Squires will present these data on Monday, May 9 at 8:30 a.m. CT in S105, McCormick Place.