Wireless oesophageal pH monitoring: establishing values in a multiracial cohort of asymptomatic Asian subjects.

Background: Wireless oesophageal (Bravo) readings in healthy European and American subjects show varied results. Values in Asians remain unstudied.

Aims: We performed Bravo studies in healthy Asians to determine if values differed from previously published and identified reflux parameters to differentiate healthy volunteers from patients.

The diagnostic utility of narrow band imaging magnifying endoscopy in clinical practice in a population with intermediate gastric cancer risk.

Objective: Narrow band imaging (NBI) and NBI-magnifying endoscopy (ME) have been reported to facilitate the diagnosis of intestinal metaplasia (IM) and early gastric cancer (EGC) in high-risk populations. This study aimed at comparing the detection rate of focal gastric lesions by NBI against white light endoscopy (WLE), and examined the utility of NBI-ME in differentiating gastric mucosal pathology in a population with intermediate gastric cancer risk.

Methods: Chinese patients aged 35-70 years undergoing diagnostic gastroscopy (GIF FQ260Z) by six experienced endoscopists were enrolled prospectively.

Is impedance pH monitoring superior to the conventional 24-h pH meter in the evaluation of patients with laryngorespiratory symptoms suspected to be due to gastroesophageal reflux disease?

Objective: Cough and laryngo-pharyngeal symptoms (LPS) are associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The role of acid reflux (AR) and non-acid reflux (NAR) in atypical GERD pathogenesis is controversial. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of high esophageal acid exposure time (AET) in patients presenting with cough or LPS and determine the incremental yield of multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH (MII-pH) monitoring.

Oesophageal sensation in response to high PCO(2) and acidic solutions in nonerosive reflux disease.

Background: Heartburn is commonly associated with the presence of acid in the oesophageal lumen. However, in patients with nonerosive reflux disease (NERD), the mechanism by which acid traverses the mucosa is not clear. We hypothesized that the luminal acid signal traverses the oesophageal epithelium in the form of the highly permeant gas CO(2) , which then is reconverted to H(+) in the submucosa.

Conscious awakenings are commonly associated with Acid reflux events in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background & Aims: More than half of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) report heartburn that awakens them from sleep. We aimed to determine the frequency of conscious awakenings associated with acid reflux events during sleep and their relationship with symptoms in patients with GERD compared with normal subjects.

Methods: The study included 39 patients with heartburn and/or regurgitation at least 3 times each week and 9 healthy individuals as controls.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

GERD is a common chronic gastrointestinal disorder, and its prevalence in Asia is increasing. Classical symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation are common presentations. There is no standard criterion for the diagnosis of GERD, and 24-h pH monitoring lacks sensitivity in NERD.

Review: treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in the elderly.

The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) increases with age; older patients are more likely to develop severe disease. Common symptoms of GERD in the elderly include dysphagia, vomiting, and respiratory problems. Older patients are more likely to require aggressive therapy, and usually their management is compounded by the presence of comorbidities and consumption of various medications.

To Bravo or not? A comparison of wireless esophageal pH monitoring and conventional pH catheter to evaluate non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease in a multiracial Asian cohort.

Objective: Non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) constitutes the majority of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Esophageal pH monitoring is useful in distinguishing patients with NERD from functional heartburn. The gastroenterologist often faces the dilemma of choosing the most appropriate investigative modality.

Upper GI tract findings in patients with heartburn in whom proton pump inhibitor treatment failed versus those not receiving antireflux treatment.

Background: Failure of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment in patients with heartburn is very common. Because endoscopy is easily accessible, it is commonly used as the first evaluative tool in these patients.

Objective: To compare GERD-related endoscopic and histologic findings in patients with heartburn in whom once-daily PPI therapy failed versus those not receiving antireflux treatment.

Reassessment of the principal characteristics of gastroesophageal reflux during the recumbent period using integrated actigraphy-acquired information.

Objectives: Characterization of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) events during the sleep period has been hampered by lack of any patient-friendly technique that allows accurate assessment of sleep duration and awakening time, without confining patients to a sleep laboratory. Our aim was to compare principal reflux characteristics during the upright, recumbent-awake, and recumbent-asleep periods as well as to determine the effect of sleep awakenings on the principal reflux characteristics of the recumbent-asleep period using novel technology that allows integration of recorded actigraphy data into collected pH information.

Methods: Patients with heartburn at least three times a week for the previous 3 months were invited to participate in this study.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)--is it one disease or an overlap of two disorders?

Up to 79% of IBS patients report gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms, and up to 71% of GERD patients report irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. There are two principal hypotheses for the common presence of IBS symptoms in GERD patients. The first theory suggests that GERD and IBS overlap in a significant number of patients.