Retrospective study on endoscopic findings of gastritis in children attending the gastrointestinal tract endoscopic unit of Assiut University Children Hospital over a 15-year-period

Background: Children with gastritis typically exhibit recurrent stomach pain and dyspepsia or vomiting.
Objectives: To assess the frequency, clinical manifestations, endoscopic pictures, aetiology and outcome of gastritis in children who visited the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) endoscopic unit of Assiut University Children Hospital.
Method: This was a retrospective, crosssectional study conducted at Assiut University Children Hospital GIT Endoscopic Unit from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2019.
Results: Upper GI endoscopy, done in all cases, showed that 66 (8.1%) had erythematous gastric mucosa, 106 (13%) had nodular gastric mucosa, 212 (25.9%) had erythematous gastric mucosa and hyperaemia, 147 (18%) had erythematous gastric mucosa and nodularity, 156 (19.1%) had hyperaemic mucosa and petechiae, 77 (9.5%) had hyperaemic mucosa and erosion, and 53 (6.5%) had multiple erosions and ulcers.
Conclusions: Gastritis represented 9.4% of children who underwent upper GI endoscopy. Helicobacter pylori was the commonest cause with high recurrence. Patients presented with recurrent GI bleeding, and those with erythematous hyperaemic mucosa on endoscopy showed recurrence compared to their counterparts.