Validation of a symptom provocation test for laboratory studies of abdominal pain and discomfort in children and adolescents

Objective Assessed the convergent and discriminant validity of a water load symptom provocation test (WL-SPT) in creating visceral sensations similar to the naturally occurring sensations experienced by children with functional abdominal pain. Methods Participants were pediatric patients with functional abdominal pain (N = 110) and healthy school children (N = 120) between the ages of 8 and 16 years. Pain patients completed questionnaires describing gastrointestinal (GI) and nongastrointestinal (non-GI) symptoms associated with their typical abdominal pain episodes. Weeks later, the WL-SPT was administered to pain patients and well children. Before and immediately following the WL-SPT, children rated their symptoms. Results The WL-SPT produced (a) significant increases in children's GI symptoms that were reliably predicted by the children's naturally occurring GI symptoms, and N significantly greater increases in GI symptoms in pain patients than in well children. Conclusions The WL-SPT produces clinically relevant symptoms for laboratory studies of children with functional abdominal pain.