The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) test in GERD: does it still have a role?

The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) test is a short course of high-dose PPI, used to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This diagnostic strategy is commonly used globally, primarily because of its availability, simplicity, and high sensitivity. The PPI test has been proven to be a sensitive tool for diagnosing GERD in noncardiac chest pain patients and in preliminary trials in extraesophageal manifestations of GERD.

The effect of auditory stress on perception of intraesophageal acid in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background & Aims: Most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) report that stress exacerbates their symptoms, yet mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown. We sought to determine the effect of an acute laboratory stressor on perceptual and emotional responses to intraesophageal acid perfusion in healthy controls and patients with GERD.

Methods: Forty-six patients with heartburn and 10 healthy controls underwent upper endoscopy and, if negative, pH monitoring.

Non-erosive reflux disease (NERD)--acid reflux and symptom patterns.

Background: Recent reports suggest that patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) treated with anti-reflux medications show lower symptom improvement rates than patients with erosive oesophagitis treated with the same medications.

Aim: To determine the acid reflux and symptom patterns of patients with NERD in comparison with those with erosive oesophagitis and Barrett's oesophagus, and to identify different NERD subgroups.

Methods: One hundred and forty-nine consecutive patients seen for classic heartburn symptoms were evaluated for the study.

Effective and safe endoscopic reversal of nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus with thermal electrocoagulation combined with high-dose acid inhibition: a multicenter study.

Background: Barrett's esophagus is a metaplastic change in the esophageal lining with an increased risk for adenocarcinoma. Multiple endoscopic techniques have been applied in an effort to reverse Barrett's. This is a multicenter trial defining the efficacy and safety of multipolar electrocoagulation combined with high-dose acid inhibition.