scholarly journals Modern achievements in the diagnosis and treatment of the refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
V T Ivashkin ◽  
I V Maev ◽  
A S Trukhmanov ◽  
D E Rumyantseva

Purpose of the review to present up-to-date data on the causes, methods of diagnosis and treatment of the refractory form of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Refractory GERD is the preservation of typical symptoms of the disease and/or incomplete healing of the esophageal mucosa against the background of taking a standard dose of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) once a day for 8 weeks. The reasons for the lack of response to the treatment are divided into related to the patient, related to therapy, and not related to GERD. Diagnostic approaches include x-ray examination of the esophagus and stomach, endoscopy with biopsy, 24-hour Impedance-pH monitoring, esophageal manometry. Depending on the reasons for the lack of response to the therapy, treatment may include lifestyle changes, doubling the dose of PPI, replacing PPI with another, adding H2-receptor antagonists, prokinetics, antacids, alginates and adsorbents. If conservative treatment is ineffective, it is possible to consider alternative methods, such as surgical treatment. Refractory GERD is a serious clinical problem. The absence of an answer to 8-week therapy with PPI requires a thorough differential diagnosis using additional examination methods. The identification of the causes of refractory to the therapy allows to optimize the approaches to its overcoming and to choose the optimal treatment.

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
I V Maev ◽  
D N Andreev ◽  
Yu A Kucheryavyy ◽  
R I Shaburov

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is characterized by high morbidity and a significant decrease in the quality of life of patients, and is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Nowadays, antisecretory therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPI) is the "gold standard" of conservative treatment of GERD, but in some cases this therapy is unsuccessful. According to various studies, the prevalence of refractory GERD can reach 30-40%. The latest scientific data in the field of genetics and pathophysiology of GERD demonstrate that a disruption of the barrier function of the esophageal mucosa and an increase of its permeability can be the leading causes of refractoriness. Thus, the optimal therapy for patients with GERD should not only suppress the secretion of hydrochloric acid, but also restore the barrier function of the mucous membrane, providing an esophagoprotective effect. To achieve these goals, Alfasoxx was developed, which consists of a mixture of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid and low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate dissolved in a bioadhesive carrier (poloxamer 407). The clinical efficacy of this product has been confirmed by three prospective, randomized, placebo - controlled trials. Alfasoxx has a healing and restorative effect towards the esophageal epithelium and due to high ability for bioadhesion provides long - term protection of the mucous membrane of the esophagus. Combination therapy for GERD with the use of PPI and an esophagoprotector offers new perspectives for the treatment of patients with GERD.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimon Sobhi AZZAM

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a clinical condition that develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. Transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation is the main pathophysiological mechanism of GERD. Symptoms and complications can be related to the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus, oral cavity, larynx and/or the lung. Symptoms and other possible manifestations of GERD are heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia, non-cardiac chest pain, chronic cough, chronic laryngitis, asthma and dental erosions. The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is the first-choice drug and the most commonly medication used for the treatment of GERD. The most widespread definition of Refractory GERD is the clinical condition that presents symptoms with partial or absent response to twice-daily PPI therapy. Persistence of symptoms occurs in 25% to 42% of patients who use PPI once-daily and in 10% to 20% who use PPI twice-daily. OBJECTIVE: The objective is to describe a review of the current literature, highlighting the causes, diagnostic aspects and therapeutic approach of the cases with suspected reflux symptoms and unresponsive to PPI. CONCLUSION: Initially, the management of PPI refractoriness consists in correcting low adherence to PPI therapy, adjusting the PPI dosage and emphasizing the recommendations on lifestyle modification change, avoiding food and activities that trigger symptoms. PPI decreases the number of episodes of acid reflux; however, the number of “non-acid” reflux increases and the patient continues to have reflux despite PPI. In this way, it is possible to greatly reduce greatly the occurrence of symptoms, especially those dependent on the acidity of the refluxed material. Response to PPI therapy can be evaluated through clinical, endoscopic, and reflux monitoring parameters. In the persistence of the symptoms and/or complications, other causes of Refractory GERD should be suspected. Then, diagnostic investigation must be initiated, which is supported by clinical parameters and complementary exams such as upper digestive endoscopy, esophageal manometry and ambulatory reflux monitoring (esophageal pH monitoring or esophageal impedance-pH monitoring). Causes of refractoriness to PPI therapy may be due to the true Refractory GERD, or even to other non-reflux diseases, which can generate symptoms similar to GERD. There are several causes contributing to PPI refractoriness, such as inappropriate use of the drug (lack of patient adherence to PPI therapy, inadequate dosage of PPI), residual acid reflux due to inadequate acid suppression, nocturnal acid escape, “non-acid” reflux, rapid metabolism of PPI, slow gastric emptying, and misdiagnosis of GERD. This is a common cause of failure of the clinical treatment and, in this case, the problem is not the treatment but the diagnosis. Causes of misdiagnosis of GERD are functional heartburn, achalasia, megaesophagus, eosinophilic esophagitis, other types of esophagitis, and other causes. The diagnosis and treatment are specific to each of these causes of refractoriness to clinical therapy with PPI.


Author(s):  
Colin G. DeLong ◽  
Joshua S. Winder

AbstractGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs in up to 20% of the population. Effective management of the condition is essential to reduce both symptoms and the risk for dysplastic changes of esophageal mucosa. Although lifestyle and diet modification and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) remain the standard of therapy, approximately 30% of patients experience persistent or recurrent symptoms with this therapy, which has been labeled PPI-refractory GERD. Surgical antireflux procedures have long been the standard therapy for PPI-refractory GERD, but drawbacks include cost and surgical morbidity. Endoscopic techniques for GERD management have been developed over the past 20 years including transoral incisionless fundoplication, the Stretta procedure, and antireflux mucosectomy. This article will review the current literature on each of these endoscopic procedures as well as highlight areas where further research is needed to fully understand the best practices for use of these endoscopic techniques for the management of PPI-refractory GERD.


2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim Prado P. Moraes-Filho

CONTEXT: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition which develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. Its pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment have frequently been analyzed but it is interesting to review some aspects of the GERD refractory patients to the proton pump inhibitors treatment. The treatment encompasses behavioral measures and pharmacological therapy. The majority of the patients respond well to proton pump inhibitors treatment but 20%-42% of them may not do so well. Patients who are unresponsible to 4-8 weeks' treatment with proton pump inhibitors (omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole, pantoprazole-Mg) might have so-called refractory GERD. RESULTS: In some cases the patients are not real refractory because either they do not have GERD or the disease was not correctly treated, but the term refractory is still employed. Although debatable, the Brazilian GERD Consensus based upon evidences recommends as first step in the diagnosis, the upper digestive endoscopy to exclude the diagnosis of peptic ulcer and cancer and in some cases identify the presence of esophageal mucosa erosions. CONCLUSIONS: The main causes of the so-called refractory GERD are: (1) functional heartburn; (2) low levels of adherence to proton pump inhibitors treatment; (3) inadequate proton pump inhibitors dosage; (4) wrong diagnosis; (5) co-morbidities and pill-induced esophagitis; (6) genotypic differences; (7) nonacid gastroesophageal reflux; (8) autoimmune skin diseases; (9) eosinophilic esophagitis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 737-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian G Turner ◽  
John R Saltzman ◽  
Ling Hua ◽  
Rie Maurer ◽  
Natan Feldman ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Wireless pH studies can offer prolonged pH monitoring, which may potentially facilitate the diagnosis and management of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the detection rate of abnormal esophageal acid exposure using prolonged pH monitoring in patients with suspected or refractory GERD symptoms.METHODS: Patients undergoing prolonged ambulatory pH studies for the evaluation of GERD-related symptoms were assessed. Patients with a known diagnosis of GERD were tested on medical therapy, while patients with suspected GERD were tested off therapy. The wireless pH capsules were placed during upper endoscopy 6 cm above the squamocolumnar junction.RESULTS: One hundred ninety-one patients underwent a total of 198 pH studies. Fifty ambulatory pH studies (25%) were excluded from the analysis: 27 patients (14%) had insufficient data capture (less than 18 h on at least one day of monitoring), 15 patients had premature capsule release (7%), seven were repeat studies (3.5%) and one had intolerable pain requiring capsule removal (0.5%). There were 115 patients undergoing pH studies who were off medication, and 33 patients were on therapy. For the two groups of patients, results were as follows: 32 (28%) and 22 (67%) patients with normal studies on both days; 58 (50%) and five (15%) patients with abnormal studies on both days; 18 (16%) and three (9%) patients with abnormal studies on day 1 only; and seven (6%) and three (9%) patients with abnormal studies on day 2 only, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged 48 h pH monitoring can detect more abnormal esophageal acid exposure but is associated with a significant rate of incomplete studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 09 (11) ◽  
pp. E1740-E1751
Author(s):  
Enrique Rodríguez de Santiago ◽  
Carlos Teruel Sanchez-Vegazo ◽  
Beatriz Peñas ◽  
Yuto Shimamura ◽  
Mayo Tanabe ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and study aims Antireflux mucosectomy (ARMS) and antireflux mucosal ablation (ARMA) are new endoscopic procedures for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We conducted a meta-analysis to systematically assess the feasibility, clinical success, and safety of these procedures. Patients and methods We searched Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Central from inception to October 2020. Overlapping reports, animal studies, and case reports were excluded. Our primary outcomes were clinical success and adverse events (AEs). Secondary outcomes included technical success, endoscopic esophagitis, 24-hour pH monitoring, and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use. A random effects model was used to pool data. Results In total, 15 nonrandomized studies (12 ARMS, n = 331; 3 ARMA, n = 130) were included; 10 were conducted in patients with refractory GERD. The technical success rate was 100 %. The pooled short-term (first assessment within the first 6 months), 1-year, and 3-year clinical success rates were 78 % (95 % confidence interval [95 %CI] 70 %–85 %), 72% (95 %CI 47 %–92 %), and 73 % (95 %CI 65 %–81 %), respectively. ARMS and ARMA yielded similar clinical success. The proportion of patients off PPIs at 1 year was 64 % (95 %CI 52 %–75 %). There were significant drops (P < 0.01) in validated clinical questionnaires scores, presence of esophagitis, and acid exposure time. The most common AE (11 %, 95 %CI 8 %–15 %) was dysphagia requiring dilation (7%, 95 %CI 5 %–11 %). Four cases of perforation were recorded, all in patients undergoing ARMS. Conclusions Our meta-analysis of nonrandomized studies suggests that ARMS and ARMA are safe and effective for patients with GERD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3360
Author(s):  
Akinari Sawada ◽  
Yasuhiro Fujiwara ◽  
Daniel Sifrim

Belching is a common phenomenon. However, it becomes bothersome if excessive. Impedance–pH monitoring can classify the belching into two types: gastric belching and supragastric belching (SGB). The former is a physiological mechanism to vent swallowed air from the stomach, whereas the latter is a behavioral disorder. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most relevant condition in both types of belching. Recent findings have raised awareness that excessive SGB possibly sheds light on the pathogenesis of a part of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) refractoriness in GERD. SGB could cause typical reflux symptoms such as heartburn, regurgitation or chest pain in two ways: SGB-induced gastroesophageal reflux or SGB-induced esophageal distension. In PPI-refractory GERD, it is important to detect hidden SGB as a cause of reflux symptoms since SGB requires psychological treatment instead of high dose PPIs or pain modulators. In the case of PPI-refractory GERD with excessive SGB, recent studies imply that the combination of a psychological approach and conventional treatment can improve treatment outcome.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1235-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atoosa Gharib ◽  
Mojgan Forootan ◽  
Marjan Sharifzadeh ◽  
Saied Abdi ◽  
Mohammad Darvishi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Gastric reflux is one of the most important causes of the referral of patients to the internal clinic, which in some cases causes problems for patients due to resistance to common treatments. Therefore, timely diagnosis and treatment of this group of patients are very important.AIM: The purpose of the present study was to determine the off-proton pump inhibitor (off-PPI) 24 h pH-impedance analyses in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) attending to Taleghani Hospital since 2009 to 2017.METHODS: In this observational descriptive-comparative off-PPI study, 572 patients with refractory GERD who were referred to Taleghani Hospital in Tehran from 2009 to 2017 were selected, and the results of 24 h pH Impedance analysis were then assessed.RESULTS: The results of 24h pH-impedance indicated that 7% of cases belonged to Pure Acid Reflux followed by weakly Acid (1%), non-acid (0.3%), mixed & gas (5.2%), functional (58.4%) and oesophagal hypersensitivity (28%). Furthermore, weakly acid plus acid was also found to be 8% and Weakly Acid + Acid + Non-Acid were determined as 8.3%.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that nearly more than half of the patients with refractory GERD would have a functional disorder in the 24h pH-impedance analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bixing Ye ◽  
Yanjuan Wang ◽  
Lin Lin ◽  
Liuqin Jiang ◽  
Meifeng Wang

Background/Aims: The incidence of reflux esophagitis (RE) has a striking predominance in males. Conversely, non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is more common in females. This imbalance of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) implies sex-related differences in its pathogenesis. However, limited studies have analyzed the sex-based differences in pH parameters and esophageal impedance of GERD patients.Methods: This study evaluated sex-based pathogenesis differences by comparing reflux episodes, mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) values, and post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave (PSPW) index values of males with GERD and females with GERD using 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring.Results: We analyzed 181 patients (102 males and 79 females) with GERD. Reflux symptom index (RSI) scores were higher in females than that in males (P &lt; 0.05). Males had significantly longer acid exposure times, higher DeMeester scores, and more acid reflux episodes than females (P &lt; 0.05). Females had more instances of weakly acidic reflux than males (P &lt; 0.01). The PSPW index values of males and females were similar (P &gt; 0.05). Compared with females, males had lower MNBI values for the mid and distal esophagus (P &lt; 0.05). However, with increasing age, the MNBI values of females decreased more rapidly than those of males. MNBI values of elderly patients of both sexes older than 60 years were similar.Conclusions: Acid reflux is more likely to occur in males; however, females tend to have more instances of weakly acid reflux. The integrity of the esophageal mucosa is more fragile in males than in females; however, the esophageal mucosal barrier attenuates more rapidly with increasing age in females than in males.


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