[Respiratory symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux in children].

In the current pediatric practice, respiratory symptoms are one of the most common reasons that lead to referral to a pediatric specialist. Although most such symptoms are generated by respiratory causes, mainly infectious ones, sometimes extra-respiratory pathogenesis is involved. In the last twenty years, pediatric gastroesophageal reflux (GER) has been more frequently recognized both because the increased awareness of the disease and the progresses concerning the diagnostic techniques. The reflux-related complications and not necessarily the number and severity of reflux episodes are the features which help distinguishing between functional or physiologic and pathologic GER. The actual gold standard for gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis is the twenty-four-hour pH monitoring of the distal esophagus. Real time ultrasound examination of the eso-gastric junction might also raise the suspicion of GERD. We report three clinical cases of GERD with distinct respiratory complications and non specific clinical picture in which anti-reflux therapy have successfully contributed symptoms remission.