Non-pharmacological management of pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders:Current evidence and future perspectives

Functional abdominal pain disorders(FAPDs) are an important and prevalent cause of functional gastrointestinal disorders among children, encompassing the diagnoses of functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal migraine, and the one not previously present in Rome Ⅲ, functional abdominal pain not otherwise specified. In the absence of sufficiently effective and safe pharmacological treatments for this public problem, non-pharmacological therapies emerge as a viable means of treating these patients, avoiding not only possible side effects, but also unnecessary prescription, since many of the pharmacological treatments prescribed do not have good efficacy when compared to placebo. Thus, the present study provides a review of current and relevant evidence on non-pharmacological management of FAPDs, covering the most commonly indicated treatments, from cognitive behavioral therapy to meditation, acupuncture, yoga, massage, spinal manipulation, moxibustion, and physical activities. In addition, this article also analyzes the quality of publications in the area, assessing whether it is possible to state if non-pharmacological therapies are viable, safe, and sufficiently well-based for an appropriate and effective prescription of these treatments. Finally, it is possible to observe an increase not only in the number of publications on the non-pharmacological treatments for FAPDs in recent years, but also an increase in the quality of these publications. Finally, the sample selection of satisfactory age groups in these studies enables the formulation of specific guidelines for this age group, thus avoiding the need for adaptation of prescriptions initially made for adults, but for children use.

Electrocardiograms changes in children with functional gastrointestinal disorders on low dose amitriptyline

AIM: To study the effects of low dose amitriptyline on cardiac conduction in children.

Prevalence of functional dyspepsia and its subgroups in patients with eating disorders

AIM:To study the prevalence of functional dyspepsia(FD)(Rome Ⅲ criteria) across eating disorders(ED),obese patients,constitutional thinner and healthy volunteers.METHODS:Twenty patients affected by anorexia nervosa,6 affected by bulimia nervosa,10 affected by ED not otherwise specified according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders,4th edition,nine constitutional thinner subjects and,thirtytwo obese patients were recruited from an outpatients clinic devoted to eating behavior disorders.Twentytwo healthy volunteers matched for age and gender were enrolled as healthy controls.All participants underwent a careful clinical examination.Demographic and anthropometric characteristics were obtained from a structured questionnaires.The presence of FD and,its subgroups,epigastric pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome(PDS) were diagnosed according to Rome Ⅲ criteria.The intensity-frequency score of broader dyspeptic symptoms such as early satiety,epigastric fullness,epigastric pain,epigastric burning,epigastric pressure,belching,nausea and vomiting were studied by a standardized questionnaire(0-6).Analysis of variance and post-hoc Sheffè tests were used for comparisons.RESULTS:90% of patients affected by anorexia nervosa,83.3% of patients affected by bulimia nervosa,90% of patients affected by ED not otherwise specified,55.6% of constitutionally thin subjects and 18.2% healthy volunteers met the Postprandial Distress Syndrome Criteria(χ 2,P < 0.001).Only one bulimic patient met the epigastric pain syndrome diagnosis.Postprandial fullness intensity-frequency score was significantly higher in anorexia nervosa,bulimia nervosa and ED not otherwise specified groups compared to the score calculated in the constitutional thinner group(4.15 ± 2.08 vs 1.44 ± 2.35,P = 0.003;5.00 ± 2.45vs 1.44 ± 2.35,P = 0.003;4.10 ± 2.23vs 1.44 ± 2.35,P = 0.002,respectively),the obese group(4.15 ± 2.08vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001;5.00 ± 2.45vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001;4.10 ± 2.23 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001,respectively) and healthy volunteers(4.15 ± 2.08 vs 0.36 ± 0.79,P < 0.001;5.00 ± 2.45 vs 0.36 ± 0.79,P < 0.001;4.10 ± 2.23 vs 0.36 ± 0.79,P < 0.001,respectively).Early satiety intensity-frequency score was prominent in anorectic patients compared to bulimic patients(3.85 ± 2.23 vs 1.17 ± 1.83,P = 0.015),obese patients(3.85 ± 2.23 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001) and healthy volunteers(3.85 ± 2.23 vs 0.05 ± 0.21,P < 0.001).Nausea and epigastric pressure were increased in bulimic and ED not otherwise specified patients.Specifically,nausea intensity-frequencyscore was significantly higher in bulimia nervosa and ED not otherwise specified patients compared to anorectic patients(3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.89 ± 1.66,P = 0.04;2.70 ± 2.91 vs 0.89 ± 1.66,P = 0.05,respectively),constitutional thinner subjects(3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P = 0.004;2.70 ± 2.91 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P = 0.005,respectively),obese patients(3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001;3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.00 ± 0.00,P < 0.001 respectively) and,healthy volunteers(3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.17 ± 0.71,P = 0.002;3.17 ± 2.56 vs 0.17 ± 0.71,P = 0.001,respectively).Epigastric pressure intensityfrequency score was significantly higher in bulimic and ED not otherwise specified patients compared to constitutional thin subjects(4.67 ± 2.42 vs 1.22 ± 1.72,P = 0.03;4.20 ± 2.21 vs 1.22 ± 1.72,P = 0.03,respectively),obese patients(4.67 ± 2.42 vs 0.75 ± 1.32,P = 0.001;4.20 ± 2.21vs 0.75 ± 1.32,P < 0.001,respectively) and,healthy volunteers(4.67 ± 2.42 vs 0.67 ± 1.46,P = 0.001;4.20 ± 2.21vs 0.67 ± 1.46,P = 0.001,respectively).Vomiting was referred in 100% of bulimia nervosa patients,in 20% of ED not otherwise specified patients,in 15% of anorexia nervosa patients,in 22% of constitutional thinner subjects,and,in 5.6% healthy volunteers(χ 2,P < 0.001).CONCLUSION:PDS is common in eating disorders.Is it mandatory in outpatient gastroenterological clinics to investigate eating disorders in patients with PDS?

Acupuncture Treatment for Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia:A Longitudinal Case-Control Double Blinded Study

Objective： To evaluate the treatment effect of acupuncture on patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia（ITN） by case-control longitudinal blinded study. Methods： Sixty ITN patients and 30 healthy subjects were included. The ITN patients were randomly assigned to acupuncture group（15 cases）, sham-acupuncture group（15 cases） and carbamazepine group（30 cases）, respectively. Clinical orofacial evaluation（including pain intensity and medication doses）, research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders（RDC/TMD） and Helkimo indexes（for functional evaluation of the masticatory system）, and quantitative sensory testing for sensory thresholds（gustative, olfactory, cold, warm, touch, vibration and superficial and deep pain） were evaluated before treatment, immediately after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Results： The mean pain intensity by the Visual Analogue Scale only decreased in the acupuncture group at the last evaluation（P=0.012）. Patients in the sham-acupuncture group had an increase in carbamazepine doses according to the prescriptions（P〈0.01）. There was a reduction in secondary myofascial pain and mandibular limitations at the acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups, however only the acupuncture group kept the changes after 6 months（P〈0.01, P=0.023）. There was a decrease in mechanical thresholds in the acupuncture group（tactile, P〈0.01; vibration, P=0.027） and an increase in deep pain thresholds in both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups（P=0.013）. Conclusion： Acupuncture can be an option in the treatment of ITN due to its analgesic effect in both ITN and secondary myofascial pain associated with it.