Acid Gastroesophageal Reflux Reports in Infants: A Comparison of Esophageal pH Monitoring and Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance Measurements

Twenty-four-hour tracings generated from combined esophageal pH and multichannel intraluminal impedance measurements of 14 infants (nine males, median age 3.5 months) were examined retrospectively. For each tracing, two acid reflux assessment reports were generated using either pH monitoring alone or pH monitoring combined with impedance. Significantly fewer acid reflux episodes were detected using pH monitoring combined with impedance when compared to pH monitoring alone (25.1±4.0 versus 99.9±18.3 episodes/patient, p=.001). Estimates of esophageal acid exposure using pH monitoring alone were two-fold higher (137.4±23.7 versus 66.6±15.9 min/patient, p=.002) than estimates derived using both techniques. Of the total acid reflux episodes detected by pH monitoring alone, 71.8% could not be confirmed by combined pH and impedance. Detection of significant numbers of “pH-only” episodes raises concerns regarding possible over-estimations of acid exposure that may occur when estimates are based solely on esophageal pH monitoring.This study was funded in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH 5R03DK62755-02) (HM) issued on July 1, 2002 (NIH, 900 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD).     

Scintigraphy in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Comparison to Endoscopy, LESp, and 24-H pH Score, as Well as to Simultaneous pH Monitoring

We compared scintigraphy to other reflux tests in 45 symptomatic patients. Sensitivity of 24-h pH score was 82%, endoscopy 64%, and LESp 33%. Scintigraphy was insensitive (36%), although 50% of patients with esophagitis had a positive test. Specificity and positive predictive value were good (all greater than or equal to 88%) in discerning patients with an abnormal 24-h pH score and esophagitis. We suggest scintigraphy as the first diagnostic test to confirm frequent reflux events (REs) and normal clearance in the subgroup of patients with severe endoscopic esophagitis, and manometry and 24-h pH monitoring when scintigraphy is negative. We also compared scintigraphy to simultaneously performed pH monitoring in detecting individual postprandial REs and their clearance. The two methods agreed in only 25% of total reflux events. Scintigraphy was superior at detection of reflux of buffered gastric contents and detection of additional REs during acid clearing intervals, whereas only the pH probe detected REs after gastric emptying. We conclude that scintigraphy has a limited role as a diagnostic test in gastroesophageal reflux disease, and much potential as a research tool, especially in combination with the pH probe.     

Gastroesophageal Scintigraphy and Endoscopy in the Diagnosis of Esophageal Reflux and Esophagitis

The value of gastroesophageal (G/E) scintigraphy in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux was assessed in 51 subjects, who presented with heartburn and had endoscopic evidence of reflux esophagitis. G/E scintigraphy was done using 99mTc sulfur-colloid in acidified orange juice. The G/E reflux index was calculated according to previous reports. The mean (+/- SD) G/E reflux index in 18 patients with severe esophagitis and 30 patients with moderate esophagitis were 1.6% (+/- 1.5) and 3.2% (+/- 5.0), respectively. The mean G/E reflux index in 14 control subjects was 2.4% (+/- 1.1). There was no significant difference between the esophagitis and control groups. Furthermore, if 4% was taken as upper limit of normal, this will include almost all the esophagitis patients and controls. It is concluded that the G/E reflux index based on G/E scintigraphy is of little value in the diagnosis of G/E reflux.     

Use of Esophageal pH Monitoring to Minimize Proton-Pump Inhibitor Utilization in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms

Digestive Diseases and Sciences - Due to concerns about long-term PPI use in patients with acid reflux, we aimed at minimizing PPI use, either by avoiding initiating therapy, downscaling to other...     

Comparison of Lower Esophageal Sphincter Manometrics and Gastroesophageal Reflux Measured by 24-Hour pH Recording

We compared lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressures to parameters of acid reflux measured during 24-h pH monitoring in 81 patients being evaluated for possible reflux disease. Mid-respiratory LES pressures were significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in patients with normal amounts of reflux than in those with abnormal reflux. This difference did not occur with LES pressure measured by end-expiratory station pull-through (SPT) or rapid pull-through (RPT). There was no significant difference in total length or intra-abdominal portion of LES between the two groups. However, the product of LES pressure and total LES length was greater (p less than 0.05) for patients with normal reflux than for these with abnormal reflux. No difference was noted in the percentage of abnormal contractions in the distal esophagus between groups. These studies support the following conclusions: 1) LES pressure may be a more important protective mechanism against reflux than LES length. 2) Mid-respiratory SPT technique appears to identify the LES antireflux barrier better than either end-expiratory SPT or RPT techniques. 3) Acid exposure time seems to be a better measure of gastroesophageal reflux than the number of reflux episodes.     

Correlation between Esophageal Motility and 24-Hour pH Recording in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux

The relationship between manometric and pH-metric data was studied in a group of 50 patients with symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. Using a multiple regression analysis, we found that the total percentage of reflux was significantly correlated to the infradiaphragmatic length and resting pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter and also to the mean amplitude of the contractile waves of the distal esophagus, thus revealing the important role of these factors in the antireflux mechanism. When the patients were divided into groups according to their manometric characteristics and the values of the various pH-metric parameters between these groups compared using a one-way analysis of variance, we found that the amplitude of the contractile waves and the percentage of deglutitions without response were related not only to the total percentage of reflux but also to the number of reflux episodes of greater than 5 min duration and to the duration of the longest episode. This shows that prolonged exposure of the esophageal mucosa to the refluxed material may be due, in part, to an alteration in the capacity for esophageal clearing.     

Gastroesophageal Scintigraphy following Gastrectomy: Comparison to Endoscopy and Esophageal Biopsy

We evaluated the relationship between gastroesophageal scintigraphy, endoscopy, and biopsy in 48 gastrectomy patients (33 with reflux and 15 without reflux symptoms). Endoscopic esophagitis was demonstrated in 78.8% of the patients with reflux symptoms, histological esophagitis was found in 72.2% of them, and scintigraphic reflux was found in 81.8%. Either endoscopic or histological esophagitis was recognized in 93.7% of the patients with reflux symptoms, while either scintigraphic reflux or endoscopic esophagitis was demonstrated in 97.0%. Scintigraphic reflux was significantly more common in patients with histological esophagitis than in those without it (92.9% vs. 40%, p < 0.01). In addition, it was found in 74.2% of patients with and 64.7% of patients without endoscopic esophagitis. The reflux index tended to increase as the grades of esophagitis increased; there was an approximate relationship between the two parameters. Our study suggested that scintigraphy reflects histological esophagitis rather than endoscopic esophagitis, and that there was an approximate relationship between the reflux index and the endoscopic grade of esophagitis. In addition, performance of scintigraphy and endoscopy combined with esophageal biopsy increased the diagnostic yield in gastrectomy patients with reflux symptoms.     

The Value of Early Wireless Esophageal pH Monitoring in Diagnosing Functional Heartburn in Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Background and Aims

It is difficult to differentiate functional heartburn from proton pump inhibitor (PPI) failure. The aims of this study were to assess the role of early wireless esophageal pH monitoring in patients referred with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to identify differences in the clinical spectrum among GERD subtypes.

Methods

We enrolled consecutive referred patients with suspected GERD. After endoscopy on the first visit, all underwent wireless esophageal pH monitoring when off the PPI.

Results

Two hundred thirty patients were enrolled. These patients were classified into a reflux esophagitis group (20, 8.7 %) and a normal endoscopic findings group (210, 91.3 %). Among the 210 patients in the normal endoscopic findings group, 63 (27.4 %) were diagnosed with pathological reflux, 35 (15.2 %) with hypersensitive esophagus, 87 (37.8 %) with normal acid exposure with negative symptom association, and 25 (10.9 %) with test failure. These groups did not differ in age, body mass index, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, symptom severity, quality of life, presence of atypical symptoms, overlap with irritable bowel syndrome, and the frequency of somatization, depression, and anxiety. PPI responses were evaluated in 135 patients. Fifty patients (37.0 %) were not responsive to the 4-week treatment; 26 (19.3 %) were diagnosed with refractory non-erosive gastroesophageal disease, and 24 (17.8 %) with functional heartburn. The demographics and clinical and psychological characteristics did not differ between the two groups.

Conclusions

Demographic characteristics and symptom patterns alone cannot differentiate functional heartburn from various subtypes of GERD. Wireless esophageal pH monitoring should be considered for the initial evaluation of GERD in the tertiary referral setting.     

Nonpropulsive Esophageal Contractions and Gastroesophageal Reflux

Nonpropulsive esophageal contractions radiologically described as tertiary contractions or "corkscrew" esophagus suggest the presence of an underlying motility disorder and may lead to impaired acid clearance. The goals of this study were to determine the prevalence and role of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in patients with tertiary contractions. Thirty-five consecutive patients with spontaneous, repetitive, nonpropulsive esophageal contractions noted on esophagography were studied with endoscopy, infusion esophageal manometry, and 24-h ambulatory pH monitoring. All patients had esophageal symptoms, mainly dysphagia, heartburn, and chest pain, but only three were found to have esophagitis by endoscopy and biopsy. Nineteen patients had repetitive, nonlumen-obliterating, nonperistaltic (tertiary) contractions, six had corkscrew esophagus, and 10 had forceful, lumen-obliterating simultaneous contractions (rosary bead esophagus). Twenty patients (58%) had GER by pH criteria with mean values: % time pH less than 4, 40.9; %upright pH less than 4, 41; %supine pH less than 4, 44.3%; number of episodes with greater than 5 min of pH less than 4, 12. Esophageal motility revealed "nutcracker" esophagus in eight, low LESP in two, and nonspecific esophageal motility disorder in 10. Symptoms or severity of nonperistaltic contractions did not correlate with GER. Radiologically demonstrable free reflux or the presence of heartburn did not predict GER. We conclude that 1) GER occurs in up to 58% of patients with nonpropulsive (tertiary) esophageal contractions on esophagography, and may play a role in the induction of abnormal peristaltic activity of the esophageal body; 2) GER is usually not associated with endoscopic evidence of esophagitis or characteristic symptoms, and is recognized by 24-h pH monitoring. We speculate that detection and treatment of GER may improve the symptomatic management of patients with nonpropulsive esophageal contractions.     

胃食管反流病食管测压与24小时pH监测的相关性研究

目的：对５２例有胃食管反流症状的患者进行食管测压及２４小时ｐＨ监测，运用统计学方法分析测压和ｐＨ结果，研究其相关性。方法：应用多导胃肠功能测定仪及便携式ｐＨ监测记录仪，对５２例有胃食管反流症状的患者进行食管测压及２４小时ｐＨ监测。结果：应用多元回归分析发现，ｐＨ的百分比和腹段下食管括约肌（ＬＥＳ）的长度、ＬＥＳ静息压及远端食管的蠕动压明显相关。依据测压及ｐＨ结果，使用ｔ检验方法，结果提示食管蠕动压不仅与ｐＨ＜４的百分化相关，也与酸反流大于５分钟的时间、最长反流时间有关（Ｐ＜００１）。结论：腹段ＬＥＳ的长度及食管下段的蠕动收缩是重要的抗反流屏障。食管酸暴露时间延长减弱食管体部酸清除能力     

食管阻抗-pH监测在胃食管反流病诊断中的作用

阻抗-pH监测是目前监测胃食管反流病(GERD)的新技术,可通过对胃反流物的pH值和阻抗值进行检测,从而了解反流物为酸反流、弱酸反流或非腹反流,并可区分反流物的性状。阻抗-pH监测可应用于GERID的诊断,尤其适用于对弱酸反流或非酸反流的诊断、对难治性GERD的诊断以及非典型症状GERD的诊断。本文主要就阻抗-pH监测的机制和临床应用作一论述。     

Ingestion of Acidic Foods Mimics Gastroesophageal Reflux During pH Monitoring

Ingestion of acidic foods may produce artifactual drops in pH to < 4 that may be difficult to differentiate from a true acid reflux event. We aimed to evaluate intraesophageal pH changes during the ingestion of acidic food and describe the frequency and implications of acidic food ingestion on ambulatory pH monitoring. Ten normal volunteers (six females; mean age, 34) underwent combined impedance–pH testing with a pH electrode placed 5 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter. Each volunteer received 50 ml each of acidic foods in random order. Nadir and mean pH for 30 sec after ingestion of each substance were recorded. Subsequently 100 randomly selected reflux monitor diaries were reviewed, searching for ingestion of acidic foods, and 100 pH tracings were reviewed to evaluate the impact of including/excluding meal periods on percentage time pH < 4 and DeMeester scores. All foods produced abrupt drops to pH < 4, in 80% of cases exceeding 30 sec. During ambulatory pH monitoring 78% of patients recorded ingestion of at least 1 of the 10 tested substances during meals, the majority admitting ingesting carbonated beverages. Not excluding meal periods would have led to the misinterpretation of 6–16% of tracings, depending on the criteria used to identify abnormal acid exposure. We conclude that ingestion of acidic foods is frequent and carries the risk of overdiagnosing GERD. Current findings support the recommendations to carefully instruct patients to record all oral intake and to exclude meal periods from the analysis.     

胃食管反流病患者酸反流与食管运动功能障碍的关系

背景：异常酸反流和食管运动功能障碍与胃食管反流病（GERD）密切相关。目的：研究GERD患者的食管运动和酸反流与食管黏膜损害的关系，以及两者之间的相关性。方法：选取有反酸、烧心、胸痛等典型胃食管反流症状的患者72例行上消化道内镜检查、食管测压和24hpH监测。根据pH〈4总时间百分比〈4．5％且DeMeester计分〈14．7的标准。将食管炎患者分为生理性酸反流组（pH^-组）和病理性酸反流组（pH^＋组）。结果：内镜下食管炎组24hpH监测各项指标较无食管炎组显著增高（P〈0．05），病理性酸反流的发生率显著高于无食管炎组（P〈0．01）。两组食管测压各项指标无显著差异，食管炎组pH^＋者的食管下括约肌压力（LESP）较pH^-者显著降低，食管体部蠕动波传导速度减慢，湿咽成功率减少（P〈0．05）。结论：GERD患者食管炎的发生与酸反流密切相关，有病理性酸反流的GERD患者易见食管运动功能障碍。     

Esophageal Dysmotility and Gastroesophageal Reflux in Intrinsic Asthma

This study was undertaken to determine theprevalence of esophageal motor abnormalities, theincidence of gastroesophageal reflux, and thecoexistence of gastroesophageal reflux with esophagealdysmotility in patients with intrinsic asthma. Based onclinical criteria, 34 consecutive asthmatics, 15patients with gastroesophageal reflux, and 10 subjectswith upper gastrointestinal symptoms with normal results of esophageal manometry and 24-hr esophageal pHtest (controls) were studied. Esophageal motor disorderswere noted in 23 of 34 asthmatics, and in 10 of 15patients with acid reflux but in none of the subjects of the control group. A positive result of theprolonged esophageal pH study (pH in the distalesophagus less than 4 for more than 4.2% of therecording time) was obtained in 14 of 17 patients withasthma (only 17 of the original patients were testedbecause the others did not give informed consence forthis test) and in all patients with gastroesophagealreflux. None of the members of the control group had positive test results. The findings of thisstudy show that: (1) it is possible to identify a groupof subjects with nonallergic asthma presenting withesophageal dysmotility, (2) the 24-hr esophageal pH study must be properly done in suchpatients; (3) esophageal motor abnormalities are oftenassociated with positive pH results; and (4) more refluxwas observed while in a supine position (especially during the night) than that observed either incontrol or reflux patients. Based on these results,patients with intrinsic asthma with reflux can benefitfrom both acid suppressive and prokinetic drugs with notable clinical implications regardingstandard treatment for asthma, and those with prevalentsupine compared to upright reflux could even benefitfrom surgery.     

Oropharyngeal Reflux Monitoring and Atypical Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been increasing since the 1990s, with up to 27.8 % of people in North America affected by this disorder. The healthcare burden of patients who primarily have extra-esophageal manifestations of GERD (atypical GERD) is estimated to be 5 times that of patients with primarily heartburn and regurgitation due to lack of a gold standard diagnostic test, poor responsiveness to PPI therapy, and delay in recognition. Empiric twice daily PPI therapy for 1–2 months is currently considered the best diagnostic test, but due to poor responsiveness to PPIs in patients with atypical GERD in multiple randomized controlled trials, newer modes of diagnostic procedures such as oropharyngeal pH monitoring have gained significantly more traction. The utility of oropharyngeal pH monitoring systems such as Restech Dx-pH is currently limited due to lack of consensus on normal and abnormal cutoff values. Recent studies suggest its utility as a prognostic tool and its ability to predict responsiveness to medical and surgical therapy. However, routine use of oropharyngeal pH monitoring is still not widespread due to the lack of well-controlled prospective studies.     

Ambulatory Esophageal pH Recording in Gastroesophageal Reflux: Relevance to the Development of Esophagitis

In a group of 60 patients with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux (GER), we carried out upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and 24-h ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring to assess the relationship between acid reflux and esophagitis. The results of 24-h pH measurement were compared with those of 15 asymptomatic control subjects who were studied with ambulatory 24-h esophageal pH monitoring only. Thirty-two patients (53.3%) had a normal esophagus macroscopically, and 28 patients (46.7%) had some degree of esophagitis. There was no significant difference between the two groups with and without esophagitis, regarding male:female ratio, age, and duration of symptoms. The group with esophagitis was more symptomatic (p less than 0.001) than the group without, and differed significantly in relation to all pH variables, i.e., number of GER episodes per hour, duration of mucosal exposure to acid (pH less than 4), and number of GER episodes requiring more than 5 min to clear per hour for the upright, supine, and 24-h periods, compared with the control group (p less than 0.001) and the group without esophagitis (p less than 0.001). In the group with esophagitis, comparison of the above pH variables in the upright and supine periods showed significantly higher values in the upright than in the supine period for the total number of reflux episodes per hour (p less than 0.001) and the number of episodes greater than 5 min/h (p less than 0.05). We conclude that the presence of esophagitis is related to both frequency and duration of GER episodes. Our findings also stress the importance of daytime acid exposure in the pathogenesis of esophagitis.     

Sonographic Measurement of Abdominal Esophageal Length as a Diagnostic Tool in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Infants

Background/Aim:

This study was conducted to provide sonographic measurements of the abdominal esophagus length in neonates and infants with and without gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to investigate its diagnostic value. GERD severity was also evaluated and correlated with esophageal length. It is a prospective case-control study.

Materials and Methods:

This prospective case-control study comprised 235 neonates and infants (120 without reflux and 115 with reflux). There were 40 children without reflux in each of three age categories: less than 1 month, 1–6 months, and 6–12 months. Of the children with reflux, 40 were less than 1 month old; 37, 1–6 months; and 38, 6–12 months. The abdominal esophagus was measured from its entrance into the diaphragm to the base of gastric folds in fed infants. GERD was sonographically diagnosed and confirmed by a barium meal. The number of refluxes during a 10-min period were recorded.

Results:

Neonates and infants with reflux had a significantly shorter abdominal esophagus than subjects without reflux: the mean difference in neonates, 4.65 mm; 1–6 months, 4.57 mm; 6–12 months, 3.61 mm.

Conclusions:

Children with severe reflux had a shorter esophagus compared with those with mild and moderate reflux only in the neonate group. Therefore, thinking of GERD and carefully looking for its symptoms is necessary to avoid unnecessary utilization of healthcare resources in children with severe reflux.