Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Recurrent Abdominal Pain of Childhood

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is probably the most common complaint among children. It is characterized as a minimum of three episodes of pain occurring over a period longer than 3 months [1]. In different studies the prevalence of RAP has varied from 9% to 15%; however, new epidemiological studies are rare [7]. The etiology of RAP has remained for the most part obscure. Only about 10% of children with RAP have been diagnosed as having an organic background for their pain, whereas the rest have been explained by psychosomatic symptoms [10,11]. It has even been suggested that diagnostic studies should therefore be limited. Endoscopy has usually been avoided because of the minimal information it would bring to the etiology of RAP [3].