Is Pyloric Stenosis a Risk Factor for Chronic Abdominal Pain?

Infants with pyloric stenosis had a fourfold greater risk for chronic abdominal pain several years later, compared with sibling controls.

Although the etiology of chronic abdominal pain remains elusive in most cases, some evidence suggests that manipulation or irritation of the gastrointestinal (GI) track in early life might lead to visceral hyperalgesia (an increased sensitivity of sensory neurons in the viscera or in the brain after an injury or inflammation of an internal organ). Visceral hyperalgesia could be the mechanism associated with functional abdominal pain. To determine whether pyloric stenosis and factors involved in its perioperative care are associated with risk for chronic abdominal pain, researchers at a U.S. urban children's hospital compared parent-reported data on GI symptoms for 100 children who underwent surgery for pyloric stenosis in early infancy (mea…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics