Endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract in infancy.

Forty endoscopic examinations of the upper gastrointestinal tract were performed in 38 infants with an age range from 2 days to 12 months. The main indications were upper gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic intractable vomiting, and small intestinal biopsy. Duodenal ulcer, hemorrhagic gastritis, and gastric erosions were the most common causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in infancy. An acute viral infection with fever, aspirin ingestion, and diarrhea frequently preceded gastrointestinal bleeding from duodenal ulcer and gastric erosion. Four of the 27 bleeding patients demonstrated no abnormality endoscopically.