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Review
. 2021 Mar;24(1):11-14.
doi: 10.1007/s40477-020-00471-w. Epub 2020 May 2.

Gastroesophageal and gastric ultrasound in children: the state of the art

Raffaele Minella  1 , Rocco Minelli  2 , Eugenio Rossi  3 , Gaetana Cremone  4 , Arturo Tozzi  5
Affiliations
Review

Gastroesophageal and gastric ultrasound in children: the state of the art

Raffaele Minella et al. J Ultrasound. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

In previous years, the role of gastroesophageal (GE) ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been disputed. Most authors believe that it is difficult to diagnose GERD without correlation studies between esophageal pathology and ultrasonographic signs. Indeed, there are many anatomic descriptions of the normal GE junction. The fact that GERD diagnosis was made by morphological studies was believed to be an incorrect deduction. We revisit the pathophysiologic data concerning the gastroesophageal junction and gastric function and review the data in the literature of the past 30 years.

Keywords: Gastric emptying time; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Lower esophageal sphincter; Ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Longitudinal scan showing the length of the abdominal tract of the esophagus
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Longitudinal scan showing that the esophageal wall thickness was measured on the anterior wall at the midpoint of the abdominal esophagus
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Longitudinal scan showing the gastroesophageal angle
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Longitudinal scan from serosa to serosa
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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