The costs of functional gastrointestinal disorders and related signs and symptoms in infants

Overview

Every year over £72.2 million is spent on treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in infants and it this thought that this cost is a conservative estimate.¹ This study which was conducted in England looks at the cost of treatment for FGIDs.¹

What are FGIDs

FGIDs are a real concern and cause of stress in families, even though they are mostly benign. FGIDs are defined as variable combinations of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) signs and symptoms without obvious structural or biochemical alterations.² It is thought that they affect up to 50% of infants.^3,4 The most common FGIDs are:

• Regurgitation
• Colic
• Functional constipation

Treatment of FGIDs

There are diagnostic criteria² and algorithms^5,6 available which have been developed for the practical management by Healthcare Professionals. The first line treatments consist of:

• Parental support
• Parental reassurance
• Nutritional advice

Study findings

unnecessarily leading to rising costs of treatment.

In 2014-2015 the total estimated cost of FGIDs was £72.3 million, of which £49.1 million were NHS costs and £23.2 were costs incurred by parents.

These figures did not include the cost of alternative therapies, in-patient treatments, diagnostic tests and parents time off work, making the actual costs substantially higher.

The number of products prescribed and sold over the counter to treat FGIDs indicates that more could be done to adhere to treatment guidelines which emphasise the importance of parental reassurance and nutritional advice.¹

For other articles that may help with practical support or for nutritional advice on managing feeding issues, read other articles on this website such as:

Managing reflux and regurgitation
Colic: A pathway for nutritional management

For more information on this review visit https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/11/e015594