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PloS One 2022Aerophagia is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder among children. The disease leads to symptoms related to air in the intestine leading to burping, abdominal... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Aerophagia is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder among children. The disease leads to symptoms related to air in the intestine leading to burping, abdominal distension, and excessive flatus. We aimed to perform a systematic review and a meta-analysis to assess the epidemiology of aerophagia in children.
METHODS
We conducted a thorough electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Web of Science) search for all epidemiological surveys conducted in children on aerophagia. All selected studies were assessed for their scientific quality and the extracted data were pooled to create a pooled prevalence of aerophagia.
RESULTS
The initial search identified 76 titles. After screening and in depth reviewing, 19 studies representing data from 21 countries with 40129 children and adolescents were included in the meta-analysis. All studies have used standard Rome definitions to diagnose aerophagia. The pooled prevalence of aerophagia was 3.66% (95% Confidence interval 2.44-5.12). There was significant heterogeneity between studies [I2 98.06% with 95% Confidence interval 97.70-98.37). There was no gender difference in prevalence of aerophagia in children. The pooled prevalence of aerophagia was highest in Asia (5.13%) compared to other geographical regions.
CONCLUSION
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found aerophagia has a significant prevalence across the world.
Topics: Adolescent; Aerophagy; Child; Eructation; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Prevalence; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35905055
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271494 -
Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology... Apr 2016Functional disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract are frequently diagnosed in children. Four different clinical entities are addressed by the Rome III committee:... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
Functional disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract are frequently diagnosed in children. Four different clinical entities are addressed by the Rome III committee: functional dyspepsia (FD), cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), adolescent rumination syndrome (ARS), and aerophagia. Management of these disorders is often difficult leading to a wide variety in therapeutic interventions. We hypothesize that definitions and outcome measures in these studies are heterogeneous as well. Our aim is to systematically assess how these disorders and outcomes are defined in therapeutic randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
STUDY DESIGN
CENTRAL, Embase, and MEDLINE/PubMed were searched from inception to February 25, 2015. Search terms were FD, CVS, ARS, and aerophagia. Therapeutic RCTs, or systematic reviews of RCTs, in English language including subjects ages 4 to 18 years (0-18 years for CVS) were evaluated. Quality was assessed using the Delphi list.
RESULTS
A total of 1398 articles were found of which 8 articles were included. Seven concerned FD and 1 concerned CVS. In all of the studies, Rome criteria or similar definitions were used; all the studies however used different outcome measures. Seventy-five percent of the trials were of good methodological quality. Only 57% used validated pain scales.
CONCLUSIONS
Different outcome measures are used in therapeutic trials on functional disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract. There is a clear paucity of trials evaluating different treatment regimens regarding CVS, ARS, and aerophagia. Uniform definitions, outcome measures, and validated instruments are needed to make a comparison between intervention studies possible.
Topics: Adolescent; Aerophagy; Child; Dyspepsia; Evidence-Based Medicine; Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood; Humans; Infant; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Pediatrics; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract; Vomiting
PubMed: 26348686
DOI: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000000973