Urea breath test in children: the United States prospective, multicenter study.

Background: The urea breath test (UBT) is generally considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infections in adults.

Goals: To investigate the utility and accuracy of urea breath testing in children from the United States.

Methods: Children scheduled to undergo upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for various clinical symptoms underwent a 13C-UBT using the US standard protocol for adults.

Use of the recto-sigmoid index to diagnose Hirschsprung's disease.

The recto-sigmoid index on barium enema may aid in the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease. However, data on its reliability in different age groups are sparse. The recto-sigmoid index and transitional zone were evaluated blindly in 107 patients with diagnostic rectal suction biopsies.

Association of the T allele of an intronic single nucleotide polymorphism in the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor with Crohn's disease: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in several genes (NOD2, MDR1, SLC22A4) have been associated with susceptibility to Crohn's disease. Identification of the remaining Crohn's susceptibility genes is essential for the development of disease-specific targets for immunotherapy. Using gene expression analysis, we identified a differentially expressed gene on 5q33, the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) gene, and hypothesized that it is a Crohn's susceptibility gene.