Symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: double blind controlled study of intermittent treatment with omeprazole or ranitidine. The European Study Group.
(1/2087)
OBJECTIVE: To assess intermittent treatment over 12 months in patients with symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. DESIGN: Randomised, multicentre, double blind, controlled study. Patients with heartburn and normal endoscopy results or mild erosive changes received omeprazole 10 mg or 20 mg daily or ranitidine 150 mg twice daily for 2 weeks. Patients remaining symptomatic had omeprazole 10 mg or ranitidine dose doubled for another 2 weeks while omeprazole 20 mg was continued for 2 weeks. Patients who were symptomatic or mildly symptomatic were followed up for 12 months. Recurrences of moderate or severe heartburn during follow up were treated with the dose which was successful for initial symptom control. SETTING: Hospitals and primary care practices between 1994 and 1996. SUBJECTS: 677 patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total time off active treatment, time to failure of intermittent treatment, and outcomes ranked from best to worst. RESULTS: 704 patients were randomised, 677 were eligible for analyses; 318 reached the end of the study with intermittent treatment without recourse to maintenance antisecretory drugs. The median number of days off active treatment during follow up was 142 for the entire study (281 for the 526 patients who reached a treatment related end point). Thus, about half the patients did not require treatment for at least 6 months, and this was similar in all three treatment groups. According to outcome, 378 (72%) patients were in the best outcome ranks (no relapse or one (or more) relapse but in remission until 12 months); 630 (93%) had three or fewer relapses in the intermittent treatment phase. Omeprazole 20 mg provided faster relief of heartburn. The results were similar in patients with erosive and non-erosive disease. CONCLUSIONS: Intermittent treatment is effective in managing symptoms of heartburn in half of patients with uncomplicated gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. It is simple and applicable in general practice, where most patients are seen. (+info)
The effect of hiatus hernia on gastro-oesophageal junction pressure.
(2/2087)
BACKGROUND: Hiatus hernia and lower oesophageal sphincter hypotension are often viewed as opposing hypotheses for gastro-oesophageal junction incompetence. AIMS: To examine the interaction between hiatus hernia and lower oesophageal sphincter hypotension. METHODS: In seven normal subjects and seven patients with hiatus hernia, the squamocolumnar junction and intragastric margin of the gastro-oesophageal junction were marked with endoscopically placed clips. Axial and radial characteristics of the gastro-oesophageal junction high pressure zone were mapped relative to the hiatus and clips during concurrent fluoroscopy and manometry. Responses to inspiration and abdominal compression were also analysed. RESULTS: In normal individuals the squamocolumnar junction was 0.5 cm below the hiatus and the gastro-oesophageal junction high pressure zone extended 1.1 cm distal to that. In those with hiatus hernia, the gastro-oesophageal junction high pressure zone had two discrete segments, one proximal to the squamocolumnar junction and one distal, attributable to the extrinsic compression within the hiatal canal. Inspiration and abdominal compression mainly augmented the distal one. Simulation of hernia reduction by algebraically summing the proximal segment pressures with the hiatal canal pressures restored normal maximal pressure, radial asymmetry, and dynamic responses of the gastro-oesophageal junction. CONCLUSIONS: Hiatus hernia reduces lower oesophageal sphincter pressure and alters its dynamic responsiveness by spatially separating pressure components derived from the intrinsic lower oesophageal sphincter and the extrinsic compression of the oesophagus within the hiatal canal. (+info)
Improvement in quality of life measures after laparoscopic antireflux surgery.
(3/2087)
OBJECTIVE: To determine if patients with gastroesophageal reflux "well controlled medically" had a different quality of life from those with residual symptoms receiving aggressive medical therapy, and to determine whether laparoscopic antireflux surgery significantly altered quality of life in patients with gastroesophageal reflux. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Clinical determinants of outcome may not adequately reflect the full impact of therapy. The medical outcomes study short form (SF-36) is a well-validated questionnaire that assays eight specific health concepts in three general fields. It may provide a more sensitive tool for judging the success of antireflux therapy. METHODS: A total of 345 patients undergoing laparoscopic antireflux surgery completed at least one questionnaire during the study period. Preoperative questionnaires were completed by 290 patients, 223 completed a questionnaire 6 weeks after surgery, and 50 completed the same questionnaire 1 year after surgery. A subgroup of 70 patients was divided before surgery into two groups on the basis of their response to standard medical therapy. RESULTS: Preoperative scores were extremely low. All eight SF-36 health categories improved significantly 6 weeks and 1 year after surgery. In the 70-patient subgroup, 53 patients (76%) underwent laparoscopic antireflux surgery because of symptoms refractory to medical therapy and 17 patients (24%) reported that their symptoms were well controlled but elected to have surgery because they wished to be medication-free. The preoperative quality of life scores of these two patient groups were equivalent in all but one category. Postoperative scores were significantly improved in all categories and indistinguishable between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic antireflux surgery is an effective therapy for patients with gastroesophageal reflux and may be more effective than medical therapy at improving quality of life. (+info)
Symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux as a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma.
(4/2087)
BACKGROUND: The causes of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia are poorly understood. We conducted an epidemiologic investigation of the possible association between gastroesophageal reflux and these tumors. METHODS: We performed a nationwide, population-based, case-control study in Sweden. Case ascertainment was rapid, and all cases were classified uniformly. Information on the subjects' history of gastroesophageal reflux was collected in personal interviews. The odds ratios were calculated by logistic regression, with multivariate adjustment for potentially confounding variables. RESULTS: Of the patients interviewed, the 189 with esophageal adenocarcinoma and the 262 with adenocarcinoma of the cardia constituted 85 percent of the 529 patients in Sweden who were eligible for the study during the period from 1995 through 1997. For comparison, we interviewed 820 control subjects from the general population and 167 patients with esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma. Among persons with recurrent symptoms of reflux, as compared with persons without such symptoms, the odds ratios were 7.7 (95 percent confidence interval, 5.3 to 11.4) for esophageal adenocarcinoma and 2.0 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 2.9) for adenocarcinoma of the cardia. The more frequent, more severe, and longer-lasting the symptoms of reflux, the greater the risk. Among persons with long-standing and severe symptoms of reflux, the odds ratios were 43.5 (95 percent confidence interval, 18.3 to 103.5) for esophageal adenocarcinoma and 4.4 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 11.0) for adenocarcinoma of the cardia. The risk of esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma was not associated with reflux (odds ratio, 1.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.7 to 1.9). CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong and probably causal relation between gastroesophageal reflux and esophageal adenocarcinoma. The relation between reflux and adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia is relatively weak. (+info)
Gastroesophageal reflux disease: diagnosis and management.
(5/2087)
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic, relapsing condition with associated morbidity and an adverse impact on quality of life. The disease is common, with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 25 to 35 percent in the U.S. population. GERD can usually be diagnosed based on the clinical presentation alone. In some patients, however, the diagnosis may require endoscopy and, rarely, ambulatory pH monitoring. Management includes lifestyle modifications and pharmacologic therapy; refractory disease requires surgery. The therapeutic goals are to control symptoms, heal esophagitis and maintain remission so that morbidity is decreased and quality of life is improved. (+info)
Pseudo-steroid resistant asthma.
(6/2087)
BACKGROUND: Steroid resistant asthma (SRA) represents a small subgroup of those patients who have asthma and who are difficult to manage. Two patients with apparent SRA are described, and 12 additional cases who were admitted to the same hospital are reviewed. METHODS: The subjects were selected from a tertiary hospital setting by review of all asthma patients admitted over a two year period. Subjects were defined as those who failed to respond to high doses of bronchodilators and oral glucocorticosteroids, as judged by subjective assessment, audible wheeze on examination, and serial peak flow measurements. RESULTS: In 11 of the 14 patients identified there was little to substantiate the diagnosis of severe or steroid resistant asthma apart from symptoms and upper respiratory wheeze. Useful tests to differentiate this group of patients from those with severe asthma appear to be: the inability to perform reproducible forced expiratory manoeuvres, normal airway resistance, and a concentration of histamine causing a 20% fall in the forced expiratory volume (FEV1) being within the range for normal subjects (PC20). Of the 14 subjects, four were health care staff and two reported childhood sexual abuse. CONCLUSION: Such patients are important to identify as they require supportive treatment which should not consist of high doses of glucocorticosteroids and beta2 adrenergic agonists. Diagnoses other than asthma, such as gastro-oesophageal reflux, hyperventilation, vocal cord dysfunction and sleep apnoea, should be sought as these may be a cause of glucocorticosteroid treatment failure and pseudo-SRA, and may respond to alternative treatment. (+info)
Review article: Helicobacter pylori and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease-clinical implications and management.
(7/2087)
A significant proportion of patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have Helicobacter pylori infection, but it is unclear whether or not H. pylori should be treated in this clinical setting. The aim of this review was to critically assess the relationship between H. pylori and GERD and its potential implications for the management of GERD. Data for this review were gathered from the following sources up to April 1998-the biomedical database MEDLINE, a detailed review of medical journals, and a review of abstracts submitted to relevant international meetings. On average, 40% of GERD patients carry H. pylori infection, with a reported infection prevalence ranging from 16% to 88%. To date, there has been no reported controlled trial of effective H. pylori therapy in GERD. GERD has been reported to develop de novo following the cure of H. pylori in peptic ulcer disease. In the presence of H. pylori, proton pump inhibitor therapy appears to accelerate the development of atrophic corpus gastritis, a potentially precancerous condition. Conversely, proton pump inhibitor therapy seems to become less effective after cure of H. pylori. The mechanisms underlying these important contrasting phenomena are poorly understood. The relationship between H. pylori and GERD is complex, and it is difficult to give definitive guidelines on the management of H. pylori infection in GERD. Controlled trials of H. pylori therapy in GERD are urgently needed, as well as further long-term data on both the natural history of gastric histopathological changes in the H. pylori-positive GERD patient treated with proton pump inhibitors, and the impact of H. pylori status on the clinical efficacy of antisecretory therapy. Pending these data, it is perhaps advisable to advocate cure of H. pylori in young patients with proton pump inhibitor-dependent GERD who, in the absence of anti-reflux surgery, are faced with the likelihood of long-term medical therapy. (+info)
A manometric assessment of oesophagogastrostomy.
(8/2087)
Intraluminal pressures were recorded in 14 patients who had undergone oesophagogastrectomy. Seven of these had a mid-thoracic and seven a high cervical oesophagogastrostomy. The incidence of postoperative reflux complications in each group was noted. No pressure gradient across the anastomosis was detected in any patient but the upper oesophageal sphincter was shown to be retained as a functioning unit in all cases. It is considered that the thoracic anastomosis provides no demonstrable barrier to reflux. In addition, a high cervical oesophagogastrostomy does not adversely affect the upper oesophageal sphincter. The wider application of this latter procedure may be associated with a decreased incidence of postoperative reflux complications. (+info)