[Pediatric digestive endoscopy: personal experience]. / Endoscopia digestiva pediatrica: esperienza personale.

Fiberendoscopy has become a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure of the outmost importance also in pediatric gastroenterology. 100 gastrointestinal fiberoscopies have been carried out on 81 patients ranging in age from 1 month to 14 years during a three-year period (November 79 - October 82), using general anesthesia for 9 patients. The 70 upper GI endoscopies, almost always performed with the Olympus GIF P2 instrument, showed acute or chronic, limited or diffuse inflammatory changes in most cases; post-bulbar areas were successfully visualized in 46 patients. The 30 colonoscopies were carried out with the standard adult equipment in most part of cases; in 50% of cases the inspection was extended to the caecum. Inflammatory diseases have been frequently revealed, but more frequently no remarkable changes were found. Indications for "operative" endoscopy were dilatation of an esophageal achalasia and removal of four gastrointestinal bleeding polyps. All procedures gave satisfactory results, and no morbidity occurred to patients.