Objective: To determine the prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux in a group of regurgitant infants attended at Helena Moura Hospital, Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The clinical criteria employed were based on Rome II criteria. Method:The study design was transversal. The patients were all children of less than 1 year of age with a history of episodes of regurgitation for at least 3 weeks. The study group was comprised of 798 children who attended the program between January and August of 2002. The diagnostic criteria were based on Rome II criteria.Results: The prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux was 11.15% (89/798) (95% CI 9.10-13.48). It was higher during the first two trimesters of life, 14.62% (31/212) (95% CI 10.33-19.86) in the first trimester, and 13.76% (38/276) (95% CI 10.07-18.21) in the second trimester. Conclusion:The prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux within the group of children examined concurred with previously published studies, with predominance, therefore, of regurgitant infants.

The prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux within the group of children examined concurred with previously published studies, with predominance, therefore, of regurgitant infants.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux in a group of regurgitant infants attended at Helena Moura Hospital, Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The clinical criteria employed were based on Rome II criteria. Method:The study design was transversal. The patients were all children of less than 1 year of age with a history of episodes of regurgitation for at least 3 weeks. The study group was comprised of 798 children who attended the program between January and August of 2002. The diagnostic criteria were based on Rome II criteria.Results: The prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux was 11.15% (89/798) (95% CI 9.10-13.48). It was higher during the first two trimesters of life, 14.62% (31/212) (95% CI 10.33-19.86) in the first trimester, and 13.76% (38/276) (95% CI 10.07-18.21) in the second trimester. Conclusion:The prevalence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux within the group of children examined concurred with previously published studies, with predominance, therefore, of regurgitant infants. ARTIGO ORIGINAL IntroduçãoEm crianças saudáveis menores de 2 anos de idade, os episódios de refluxo gastroesofágico fisiológico muitas vezes são sintomáticos, sendo a regurgitação o sintoma característico. Recentemente essa situação foi denominada regurgitação infantil (RI), a qual deve ser diferenciada do refluxo gastroesofágico patológico (RGEP), que se associa à sintomatologia clínica e é denominado doença do refluxo gastroesofágico (DRGE) 1-3 .