Gastroesophageal reflux, a common and normal condition among preterm neonates, should be diagnosed using signs of the condition such as feeding intolerance and irritability, and treated without the use of pharmacologic agents, according to a clinical report issued by the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn.

This condition, according to Eric C. Eichenwald, MD, FAAP, chief of the division of neonatology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is usually a condition that will resolve as the infant matures.