Finding solutions: Tests and treatments 

Special tests, just for children

Below are some of the tests and procedures that can help your child. We do most of these during a daytime appointment, so your child can spend every night at home.

• Motility studies help physicians see how well the body pushes food or stool (feces), for example, through the digestive tract. Our physicians are the only Pediatric Gastroenterologists in Pennsylvania to offer this important service just for children. We use motility studies to diagnose the cause of serious abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and other conditions.
• X-rays of the upper abdomen might include an “Upper GI Series.” These are X-rays of the upper gastrointestinal tract: the esophagus, stomach and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine).
• X-rays of the lower intestines, or bowels, might include a “barium enema.” Specialists use this procedure to see the large intestine: the colon and rectum. With the child asleep, we use an enema to place barium into the intestines through the rectum. Barium shows up very brightly on X-rays. This gives us a clearer picture of the intestines and helps locate ulcers, growths such as polyps, and areas that are unusually narrow.
• Endoscopy procedures allow physicians to see inside the body. An “endoscope” is a thin flexible tube with a light and camera. With your child asleep, the doctor moves it gently through his body, either through the mouth to see the esophagus and the stomach or through the rectum to see the lower intestines.

Our Child Life Specialist will explain these tests to your child in terms he will understand.

Treatment for your child

Sometimes, infants and children simply outgrow their problems with their digestive tract. So treatment might last only for a few weeks, months or years. Treatment could include medicine, changes to the foods he eats, surgery, or dietary supplements (extra nutrition given in a way his body needs, such as special drinks). Each of our Pediatric Gastroenterologists has special training in the latest treatments, and we will discuss all of your options with you.

Your child will also receive the expert care of the food and nutrition specialists at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital.