Objectives: The objective of the study was to ascertain the appropriateness of indications for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy in children with dyspepsia.
Methods: We used the RAND/University of California at Los Angeles method to investigate the appropriateness of the opinions of a panel of experts. The panel judged 2304 theoretical patient scenarios defined by a combination of demographic and clinical variables. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.
Results: The panel rated UGI endoscopy as appropriate in 27.2% of cases, inappropriate in 14.3%, and dubious in 58.5%. Disagreement emerged for 21% of cases. UGI endoscopy was considered increasingly appropriate in cases with a positive family history of peptic ulcer and/or Helicobacter pylori infection (odds ratio [OR] 8.518, P < 0.0001), when dyspepsia interfered with activities of daily living ("sleep" OR 7.540, P < 0.0001; "normal activities" OR 5.725, P < 0.0001), and when patients were older than 10 years ("<or=10 years" OR 0.310, P < 0.0001) the longer the duration ("0-2 months" OR 0.002, P < 0.0001; "3-5 months" OR 0.059, P < 0.0001; "6-11 months" OR 0.516, P = 0.0005) and the greater the severity ("mild" OR 0.002, P < 0.0001; "moderate" OR 0.013, P < 0.0001) of their dyspeptic symptoms.
Conclusions: UGI endoscopy is not appropriate for all children with dyspeptic symptoms, but only for cases with a family history of peptic ulcer and/or Helicobacter pylori infection, older than 10 years of age, with symptoms persisting for more than 6 months and severe enough to affect activities of daily living.