Pediatr Clin North Am. 2021 Dec;68(6):1237-1253. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2021.07.009.

Jonathan Miller ¹, Julie Khlevner ¹, Leonel Rodriguez ²

Author information

¹Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 3959 Braodway CHN7, New York, NY 10032, USA.

²Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, LMP 4093, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. Electronic address: leonel.rodriguez@yale.edu.

Abstract

Children with disorders affecting the sensory and motor functions of the esophagus will present primarily with swallowing dysfunction, dysphagia, and chest pain, and those with disorders affecting the normal function of the stomach will present with symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Recent advances in the mechanisms of disease and technology have increased our understanding of gastrointestinal physiology and that knowledge has been applied to develop new diagnostic studies and therapeutic interventions. We present an overview of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of common primary and secondary functional and motility disorders affecting the upper gastrointestinal tract in children.