Predictors of chronic abdominal pain affecting the well-being of children in primary care.

Purpose: Abdominal pain is a frequent symptom among children but is rarely associated with organic disease. Although it may persist for years, no factors have been identified that predict its prognosis. Our aim was to determine whether patient characteristics at initial consultation can predict chronic abdominal pain severe enough to influence the child's well-being at 1 year of follow-up.

Prevalence, characteristics, and management of childhood functional abdominal pain in general practice.

Objective: To (i) describe the proportion of children presenting with abdominal pain diagnosed by the GP as functional abdominal pain (GPFAP); (ii) evaluate the association between patient and disease characteristics and GPFAP; (iii) describe diagnostic management by the GP in children presenting with abdominal pain, and (iv) evaluate whether children with GPFAP fulfill diagnostic criteria for functional abdominal pain (FAP) as described in current literature: chronic abdominal pain (CAP) and the Rome III criteria (PRC-III) for abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: General practices in the Netherlands.

Prognosis of abdominal pain in children in primary care--a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Abdominal pain is a common complaint in children. Because few data exist on its natural history, we wanted to investigate the prognosis of abdominal pain in children in general practice.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study of children (aged 4 to 17 years) complaining of abdominal pain, follow-up was at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months using standardized questionnaires.

Childhood abdominal pain in primary care: design and patient selection of the HONEUR abdominal pain cohort.

Background: Abdominal pain in children is a common complaint presented to the GP. However, the prognosis and prognostic factors of childhood abdominal pain are almost exclusively studied in referred children. This cohort study aims at describing prognosis and prognostic factors of childhood abdominal pain in primary care.

Association between helicobacter pylori and gastrointestinal symptoms in children.

Objective: Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) and other gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common complaints among children. The role of Helicobacter pylori in the cause of these complaints remains controversial. Nevertheless, there is an increasing pressure on primary care clinicians to screen for H pylori infection in symptomatic children.