[Esophageal pH measurements in newborn infants. Value and indications].

Esophageal pH monitoring is now the most reliable test in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in infants and children. A 18-24 hr esophageal pH monitoring is undertaken in 26 newborns to validate this test for this age group where GER is frequent with fair correlation of clinical presentation. In 19 infants with suspicion of GER, this test give a positive diagnosis in 12 of them. Seven out of these 12 infants have another investigations (barium- esophagram - scintigraphy - esophagoscopy) with only a positive diagnosis of GER in 4 cases. Esophageal pH monitoring in 7 control infants show that the percent of monitoring time with pH below 4.0 is one of the best discriminative values (upper limit: 4.2%) for the diagnosis of GER. Unusual symptoms of GER in the neonatal period as apneic spells, dyspnea, cyanosis or neurological signs are indications for esophageal pH monitoring.