Indications for investigation of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms.

Abstract

Simple routine blood tests (full blood count, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein, and serum albumin) may select children with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms who require endoscopic assessment and are thus an important aid in the prediction of endoscopic status. When all of the results are normal then chronic inflammatory bowel disease is an unlikely diagnosis.