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Reflux of stomach acid unlikely to cause irritable babies13th August 2004 Researchers from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital have found that acid-suppressing drugs used to treat reflux in babies in the first year of life do not overcome irritability. Senior Gastroenterology Consultant Dr David Moore said: “Excessive crying and irritability is the most common reason for parents to seek professional help for their babies in the first three months of life. Reflux is considered to be a common cause of this irritability. “Our research has clearly shown acid reflux is probably not the main cause after all,” Dr Moore said. Just less than 100 babies between three and 12 months of age, known to frequently spill their feeds and to be irritable or cry to such an extent that parents had sought help, were assessed for gastric reflux. Thirty were found with significant acid reflux and received an acid-suppressing medication used widely to treat reflux for a two-week period and a control medication for another two-week period. “The acid-suppressing medication significantly reduced reflux in these babies but parents reported irritability did not improve through the treatment,” Dr Moore said. “We generally find babies tend to get progressively less irritable with time. When parents are reassured about their infant’s health and learn new ways to cope with the irritability, the babies often tend to improve anyway. “There are a few babies whose irritability does respond to acid-suppressing drugs, but these are rare. Our advice to other practitioners is if acid-suppressing drugs are tried for irritability and the infant doesn’t improve in a week, then stop the treatment. “These are potent and expensive medications and should
not be given lightly,” Dr Moore said. We have not ruled out the possibility
that regurgitation itself may cause significant irritability in infants but
suppression of acid is not the answer. To
arrange interviews with Dr
Moore please contact: Kirsty Mudge or Dr Edna Bates Media
Liaison Officer
A/Director of Media and Community Relations Tel:
(
618) 8161 7165
mobile
0401 125 630 (after hours) email:
mudgek@wch.sa.gov.au
email:
batese@wch.sa.gov.au
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