Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutritiology: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Digestive diseases in children due to their high prevalence, features of clinical course, high risk of early onset and disability is a serious medical and social problem. The origins of many chronic digestive diseases in adults, leading to temporary disability, lie in childhood and adolescence, that is, the importance of prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment of these diseases in the early stages of their development is obvious. Currently, there is allocated an independent scientific discipline and created the National association of pediatric gastroenterologists and nutritionists of Ukraine, the most important task of which is to solve the pressing problems of the gastrointestinal pathology. The need to create such a society was determined by the problems and shortcomings in the system of pediatric gastroenterological care and lack of unified regulations on preventive nutrition at that time. To date, it is managed to develop standards of the treatment for chronic digestive diseases — «Unified clinical protocols of medical care for children with gastrointestinal diseases» (Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine № 59, dated 29.01.2013). These guidelines, deve­loped in accordance with international practice and principles of evidence-based medicine, is now being actively implemented into practice of gastroenterologists and solve many questions that arise at all stages of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of gastroenterological diseases.

Keywords

• digestive diseases
• gastroenterology
• National association of pediatric gastroenterologists and nutritionists of Ukraine
• protocols and standards of medical care for children