Sonographic Meas
Sonographic
Measurements of Subdiaphragmatic Length, Diameter, and Diameter to Length Ratio
of Esophagus in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Diagnosis in Children
Masoud Nemati 1,
Mandana Rafeey 2, Behzad Roozbehani 1,
Abolhassan Shakeri Bavil 3, Kamyar Ghabili 4
1. Department of Radiology, Tabriz University of
Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2. Pediatric Health Research Center, Tabriz
University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3. Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center,
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
4. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research
Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract: Gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD) is a common condition among infants and young children.
In this age-group, in particular, this condition needs to be diagnosed and
treated as early as possible, because any delay may lead to unwanted
consequences in terms of their growth and development. Although ultrasonography
has been claimed as a sensitive and accurate diagnostic modality, it is
time-consuming and difficult to perform in young children. This study aimed to
evaluate correlation of some sonographic anatomical parameters of distal
esophagus with results of classic sonography in diagnosis of GERD in infants
and children. In this cross-sectional analytic-descriptive study, 282 infants
and children were recruited. Based on the results of gray-scale conventional
sonography, GERD was diagnosed in 185 cases. Length of the subdiaphragmatic
esophagus, distal esophageal diameter and wall thickness, and diameter to length
ratio were documented by ultrasound and compared between the groups with and
without GERD. One hundred and thirty nine boys and 143 girls with a mean age of
16.78±20.99 (range: 1-144) months were enrolled in this study. The length of
subdiaphragmatic esophagus was significantly lower in the cases with GERD,
while the distal esophageal wall thickness and the diameter to length ratio
were significantly higher in the same group. Among the studied sonographic
variables, diameter to length ratio was the best indirect indicator of GERD
with an optimal cut-off point of 0.45 (sensitivity: 61.1%, specificity: 57.7%).
The length of subdiaphragmatic esophagus was predictive of GERD only in the
age-group of 12-60 months with low sensitivity and specificity (<42%). This
study showed that only the diameter to length ratio of the subdiaphragmatic
esophagus might be used to predict GERD among children with limited efficiency.
[Nemati
M, Rafeey M, Roozbehani B, Bavil AS, Ghabili K. Sonographic
Measurements of Subdiaphragmatic Length, Diameter, and Diameter to Length Ratio
of Esophagus in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Diagnosis in Children. Life Sci J 2013;10(1):985-988]
(ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.
Keywords: Gastroesophageal reflex disease; ultrasound; subdiaphragmatic esophagus.
