Red flags in children with chronic abdominal pain and Crohn's disease-a single center experience. J Pediatr 2013 Apr;162(4):783-7
Date
10/17/2012Pubmed ID
23069193DOI
10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.09.014Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84884213804 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 30 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare history and symptoms at initial presentation of patients with chronic abdominal pain (CAP) and Crohn's disease (CD). Red flags are used to help determine which patients with CAP are likely to have an underlying disease such as CD. However, red flags have not been validated and pediatric studies are lacking.
STUDY DESIGN: Patients seen in the outpatient Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin between 2005 and 2008 prospectively completed a demographic, history, and symptom questionnaire. Patients with abdominal pain for at least 1 month and no evidence of organic disease were compared with patients diagnosed with CD confirmed by mucosal biopsies.
RESULTS: Data were collected on 606 patients (128 with CD and 478 with functional gastrointestinal disorders). Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders had more stressors (P < .001), were more likely to have a positive family history of irritable bowel syndrome, reflux, or constipation (P < .05), were more likely to have vomiting but less likely to have hematochezia, weight loss, and problems gaining weight (P < .05); wake from sleep and joint pain were no different between groups. Anemia, hematochezia, and weight loss were most predictive of CD (cumulative sensitivity of 94%).
CONCLUSION: The presence of anemia, hematochezia, and weight loss help identify patients with CAP who require further work-up and referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. Furthermore, waking from sleep or joint pain occurred similarly between groups and should not be considered as "red flags."
Author List
El-Chammas K, Majeskie A, Simpson P, Sood M, Miranda AAuthors
Adrian Miranda MD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinPippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Abdominal PainAdolescent
Anemia
Biopsy
Child
Crohn Disease
Decision Making
Female
Gastroenterology
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage
Humans
Male
Mucous Membrane
Pediatrics
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weight Loss
