Usefulness of Endoscopic Hill Grade in Evaluating Children Suspected of Having Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aim to evaluate the relationship between the Hill grade confirmed by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and the degree of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) by 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring (MII-pH) in children suspected of having gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS: A retrospective review of 105 children and adolescents who underwent EGD and MII-pH for the evaluation of GERD from March 2013 to July 2019 was performed. Clinical features and results of EGD and 24-hour MII-pH were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Hill grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 were identified using EGD in 56 (53.3%), 22 (22.0%), 16 (15.2%), and 11 (10.5%) patients, respectively. As the Hill grade increased, the proportion of neurological diseases (P < 0.001) and endoscopic erosive esophagitis (P < 0.001) increased significantly. The acid exposure index, bolus exposure index, number of reflux episodes, and number of GER reaching proximal extent on MII-pH increased significantly as the endoscopic Hill grade increased (all P < 0.001). Linear regression analysis revealed an increase in the Hill grade by 1 increased the acid exposure index by 2.0%, bolus exposure index by 0.7%, number of reflux episodes by 18.9 episodes, and the number of GER reaching the proximal esophagus increased by 10.5 episodes on average (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hill grade on EGD was associated with GER in children. Estimating the degree of GER by applying Hill grade in the retroflexion view may be useful in practice when evaluating children suspected with GERD.