Viral Infections

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas. Now that we are into the New Year, unfortunately the season is upon us for viral infections, and non-specific virial infections can cause problems for children in a number of ways, in terms of their gut and stomach. Non-specific effects such as poor fluid intake during temperature-related…

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Focus on Coeliac Disease

Coeliac disease is a condition in which the body gets confused between a protein in cereals, called gliadin, and the lining of our own bowel and therefore, in what is called an auto-immune way, the lining of the bowel is attacked by the antibodies in our own blood stream. It happens in more than 1%…

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Prof Mike Thomson’s 30th Anniversary

This month marks 30 years since I have worked at the Portland Hospital in Private Paediatric Gastroenterology, looking after all types of problems from the simple to the complex, for children with gastro-intestinal disorders, nutrition problems and liver problems. I have also worked with my Practice Manager, Kate, for 28 of those years, which has…

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Things That Summer Can Bring to Children From the GI Perspective!

Hay fever season is particularly noted for worsening allergic conditions involving the oesophagus, defined as eosinophilic oesophagitis, which is a bit like eczema of the oesophagus. This classically presents with reflux-type symptoms or sometimes swallowing difficulties, especially for solid food. If this happens then it is best to see a doctor, and with the swallowing…

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The Need for Endoscopy in Children

I have just published an article in Nature reviews of gastroenterology and hepatology which examines the need for endoscopy in children, including upper GI endoscopy and ileo-colonoscopy. The diagnostic positive yield, or another way of putting it is the number of children who have endoscopy in whom positive results are found, varies in different studies,…

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