An observational study in Failure to Thrive and Endoscope, sponsored by Assiut University. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 6 Months to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-08.
Sponsored by Assiut University · Observational
This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic role of gastrointestinal endoscopy in children presenting with failure to thrive and its correlation with histopathology and other diagnostic modalities.
Failure to thrive (FTT) is a common and concerning clinical presentation in pediatric practice, characterized by inadequate growth or the inability to maintain expected weight and height percentiles (1). By accepted definitions, FTT can be defined as weight-for-age below the 5th percentile, or a drop of two major percentile lines on a standardized growth chart (2). It is not a diagnosis but rather a descriptive term that reflects an underlying issue with inadequate energy intake, absorption, or utilization. The causes of FTT are broad and often multifactorial, ranging from nutritional deficiencies and feeding difficulties to chronic infections, metabolic disorders, and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Among these, GI causes are particularly important, as they may be subtle, chronic, and potentially reversible with early diagnosis and appropriate management (3).
Despite advances in nutritional support and non-invasive diagnostics, a subset of children with persistent FTT require further evaluation to identify underlying organic causes (4). Gastrointestinal endoscopy, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy, provides direct visualization, tissue sampling, and diagnosis of a wide spectrum of pathologies such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer disease, and malabsorptive disorders (5).
Children presenting with FTT and associated gastrointestinal symptoms such as persistent vomiting, chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, dysphagia, feeding intolerance, or hematemesis are particularly likely to benefit from gastrointestinal endoscopy (6). Even in the absence of overt GI symptoms, some children with unexplained FTT may harbor asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic conditions detectable only through endoscopic and histologic examination. Furthermore, gastrointestinal endoscopy can also help to rule out serious pathologies and provide reassurance to caregivers, allowing clinicians to focus on non-organic or psychosocial contributors to FTT when appropriate (7).
Despite its clinical utility, the use of gastrointestinal endoscopy in evaluation of FTT must be carefully considered due to its invasive nature, the need for sedation or anesthesia, and potential complications (8). Therefore, patient selection and risk-benefit ratio assessment are crucial. The decision to perform gastrointestinal endoscopy is often guided by a combination of clinical findings, laboratory data, growth patterns, and failure to respond to initial nutritional interventions (9).
84 studies on the registry are indexed under Failure to Thrive; 12 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 165 across 24 observational studies indexed under Failure to Thrive.
Browse Failure to Thrive studies →Assiut University is the lead sponsor of 5,078 studies on the registry; 2,178 are open to participants now.
Of its 14 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
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any child from6 months to 18 years and has unexplained failure to thrive failure to thrive means: Weight-for-age below the 5th percentile for sex/age or crossing downward by ≥2 major percentiles lines on a standardized growth chart confirmed on two measurements.
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Diagnosed with failure to thrive, defined as :
Weight-for-age below the 5th percentile for sex/age or crossing downward by ≥2 major percentiles, confirmed on two measurements.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Role of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Evaluation of Pediatric Failure to Thrive
evaluate the diagnostic role of gastrointestinal endoscopy in children presenting with failure to thrive and its correlation with histopathology and other diagnostic modalities.
Time frame: baseline
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: Undecided
Start is estimated for Sep 2025; primary completion for Mar 2027, 18 months later.
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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