Gastritis in pediatric patients: Correlation of gross endoscopic findings with histological results

Getting to Grips With Gastric Pathology

“…When a child is scheduled for diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, the endoscopist has an obligation to maximize the diagnostic potential of the procedure. Central to this must come the recognition that making a diagnosis based on macroscopic appearances alone is limited (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). For example, gastric mucosa that appears normal at endoscopy may harbor marked inflammation on microscopy.…”

“…In other words, often a poor correlation exists between endoscopy and histologic findings. Therefore, multiple gastric biopsy specimens from different zones of the stomach must be an integral part of a proper examination of the gastric mucosa (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). The more tissue and the better its quality, the better the chance of accurate diagnosis.…”

Gastritis and Gastropathy of Childhood

“…Once a child is scheduled for diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, the endoscopist has an obligation to maximize the diagnostic potential of the procedure. Central to this must be the recognition that the ability to make a diagnosis based on macroscopic appearances alone is limited (1‐5). For example, gastric mucosa that appears normal at endoscopy may harbor marked inflammation visible on microscopic analysis.…”

“…Thus, there is often poor correlation between endoscopic and histologic findings. It follows, therefore, that multiple gastric biopsies must be an integral part of a proper examination of the gastric mucosa (1‐5). In children, gastritis remains underrecognized and poorly characterized because of the flawed tendency to rely on macroscopic appearances at endoscopy, and an apparent reluctance to perform multiple gastric biopsies.…”