The Effects of the Rome IV Criteria on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Practice

Abstract

Purpose of review: To evaluate the impact of the implementation of the Rome IV criteria on pediatric gastrointestinal practice.

Recent findings: In 2016, the Rome IV criteria were published, providing an update of symptom-based criteria to diagnose children with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). For neonates and toddlers, Wessel's criteria for diagnosing infant colic were abandoned, and a differentiation was made between toilet-trained and non-toilet-trained children in the diagnosis of functional constipation. For children and adolescents, two new disorders (functional nausea and functional vomiting) are described, and in the diagnosis of functional dyspepsia, pain does not have to be the chief complaint anymore. This change has made functional dyspepsia the most common functional abdominal pain disorder, exceeding the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Lastly, the diagnosis of abdominal migraine was narrowed, causing an appropriate drop in its prevalence.

Keywords: Children; Functional abdominal pain; Functional gastrointestinal disorders; Infant colic; Infants; Rome IV.