Rumination syndrome in adolescents

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical presentation and to assess the usefulness of antroduodenal manometry (ADM) and the results of multidisciplinary team management in 12 neurologically normal adolescents (9 girls) with rumination.Study design: All patients had extensive investigations that ruled out other causes of their chronic symptoms. We performed ADM in all patients. A multidisciplinary approach was used for the nutritional and behavioral rehabilitation of these patients. RESULTS: The median age at presentation was 14 years (range, 9-19 years), and the average duration of symptoms was 17 months. All patients complained of postprandial, effortless regurgitation, and the majority had weight loss and abdominal pain. Results of fasting ADM were normal in all. The postprandial ADM showed brief, simultaneous pressure increases at all recording sites, associated with regurgitation in 8 patients. No emesis was observed in the other 4 children during the study. Treatment included nutritional support in combination with antidepressants and anxiolytics (n = 6), cognitive therapy with biofeedback or relaxation techniques (n = 7), and pain management (n = 2). Resolution or improvement of symptoms was seen in 10 of the 12 patients, and successful transition to oral feedings was achieved in all during the follow-up period, which ranged from 5 to 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: Rumination is a distinct functional gastrointestinal disorder of otherwise healthy children and adolescents, which can be diagnosed on the basis of clinical features. The ADM shows a characteristic pattern and rules out motility disorders that are often confused with rumination. A multidisciplinary team approach is associated with satisfactory recovery in most patients.