Comparative Analysis of Adverse Events after Esophageal Balloon and Bougie Dilations in Children

Background: Pneumatic balloon and bougie dilation are widely used methods for pediatric esophageal dilation. There are no studies directly comparing the safety of these techniques in pediatric patients. This study compared adverse events (AEs) of balloon and bougie dilation in children at a single institution. Methods: AEs were identified by means of a prospective clinical registry of all procedure related AEs from 2012–2015 at a single institution. Identified AEs underwent retrospective review of procedural and clinical details. The category of each AE was recorded and severity was assigned using a 5-point scoring system. AEs were compared between balloon and bougie dilation for different severities. Results: There were 105 patients who underwent 246 dilation sessions. Balloon dilation was performed more commonly (n = 190, 77%) as compared to Maloney dilators (n = 56, 23%). Patients with balloon dilation were younger (3.0 vs 14.5 years p = 0.0001) and more likely to have strictures from caustic ingestion (42% vs 2% p 

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