Sonographic measurement of the abdominal esophagus length in children under 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux

Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER) is defined as the return of gastric contents into the esophagus or oropharynx without effort which is a common problem in the children. Ultrasound is a sensitive and accurate method for evaluation of reflux. The aim of this study was to compare the abdominal esophagus length between the children below 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux and children of the same age without gastroesophageal reflux. This was a case-control study and included 100 children less than 2 years of age. The children were allocated to two groups, 50 children without GER and sonographic evidence as control group and 50 with GER confirmed by sonographic or barium swallow under fluoroscopy as our case group. The length of the abdominal esophagus was measured according to the protocol. Using SPSS 21 software, data were analyzed by statistical tests. The average length of the abdominal esophagus in the patients with GER and those without GER were 19.46±4.54 and 26.23±5.01 respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups in regard to the length of abdominal esophagus. According to the results of this study, it seems that the length of the abdominal esophagus is shorter in the children under 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux compared to those without gastroesophageal reflux. Therefore, measurement of abdominal esophagus length by ultrasound can be a useful parameter in children with gastroesophageal reflux.