Abstract: Objective To improve the clinical understanding of children's pneumophagia.Methods The children aged 1 to 18 years, diagnosed with aerophagia and followed up in Gastroenterology Department of Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from June 2017 to May 2020 were included. The clinical data and follow-up records of the patients were collected from the medical record system.Results There were 51 males and 27 females, aged from 1.4 to 12 years old. Among them,13 cases (16.7%) were below 4 years old. The course of disease ranged from 2 to 24 months. The clinical manifestations mainly included decreased appetite, abdominal pain, hiccup, constipation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. There were 6 cases complicated with tic disorder, 2 cases complicated with autism and 1 case complicated with cerebral palsy. Fifty-four cases had suspected causes, mainly including acute gastroenteritis, allergic rhinitis, respiratory tract infection, mental stress and after surgery. Abdominal distension was the main complaint of 78 patients. During the treatment, air swallowing was observed. Abdominal distension was characterized as "mild in the morning and severe in the evening". Abdominal X-ray and gastroenteroscopy showed no abnormity. After treatment, 64 cases were cured, 8 cases had recurrent symptoms and 6 cases had poor curative effect.Conclusion Aerophagia can occur in children of any ages. The main manifestations were abdominal distension, gas swallowing and anal exhaust increase. Most of the children were cured after treatment.

Key words: Aerophagia, Children, Clinical manifestations, Treatment