[Progress and focal points discussed at the Japanese Committee on Pediatric Endoscopy].

Recent advances of pediatric endoscopy were discussed. Progresses of technique and improvements of instrument have made it possible to scope safely resulting in the increase of pediatric endoscopies. Gastric endoscopy has become useful to find the peptic ulcer of the stomach in the newborn babies who showed hematemesis. ERCP has been done successfully in the newborn babies making it possible to differentiate congenital biliary atresia from infantile hepatitis. Colonofiberscopy has become reliable and useful procedure to search the source of rectal bleeding but still had some problems to be resolved. General anesthesia has been widely used at the performance of pediatric endoscopy. In some institutes, local anesthesia has been recommended in the patients over 8 years old. In 1983, 1161 pediatric endoscopies were performed in 24 institutes, which were twofold of those performed in 1978. Number of these cases is not enough for the training of pediatric endoscopist. Urgent theme is to establish the system for the education of "true" pediatric endoscopist.