Choi HS, et al. Korean J Hematol. 2012 Dec;47(4):286-292. http://dx.doi.org/10.5045/kjh.2012.47.4.286

Yang HR. Korean J Pediatr. 2017 Dec;60(12):379-384. https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2017.60.12.379

Helicobacter pylori infection is acquired mainly during childhood and causes various diseases such as gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and iron deficiency anemia. Although H. pylori infection in children differs from adults in many ways, this is often overlooked in clinical practice. Unlike adults, nodular gastritis may be a pathognomonic endoscopic finding of childhood H. pylori infection. Histopathological findings of gastric tissues are also different in children due to predominance of lymphocytes and plasma cells and the formation of gastric MALT. Although endoscopy is recommended for the initial diagnosis of H. pylori infection, several non-invasive diagnostic tests such as the urea breath test (UBT) and the H. pylori stool antigen test (HpSA) are available and well validated even in children. According to recent data, both the (13)C-UBT and HpSA using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are reliable non-invasive tests to determine H. pylori status after eradication therapy, although children younger than 6 years are known to have high false positives. When invasive or noninvasive tests are applied to children to detect H. pylori infection, it should be noted that there are differences between children and adults in diagnosing H. pylori infection.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitis that causes coronary artery abnormality (CAA) as a complication. In some patients, an association has been noted between elevated liver enzymes or an abnormal gallbladder (GB) and hepatobiliary involvement in KD. In this study, we aimed to evaluate clinical, laboratory, and ultrasonographic (USG) risk factors of hepatobiliary involvement for the intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance and the development of CAA in children with KD.

The Committee on Pediatric Obesity of the Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition newly developed the first Korean Guideline on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity in Children and Adolescents to deliver an evidence-based systematic approach to childhood obesity in South Korea. The following areas were systematically reviewed, especially on the basis of all available references published in South Korea and worldwide, and new guidelines were established in each area with the strength of recommendations based on the levels of evidence: (1) definition and diagnosis of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents; (2) principles of treatment of pediatric obesity; (3) behavioral interventions for children and adolescents with obesity, including diet, exercise, lifestyle, and mental health; (4) pharmacotherapy; and (5) bariatric surgery.