The Features Of Chinese Patients With Reflux Esophagitis

Main Category: Acid Reflux / GERD
Article Date: 21 May 2008 - 4:00 PST

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is described as the chronic symptoms and/or tissue damage caused by the reflux of abnormal gastric contents to the esophagus. GERD is a common disease, with associated typical symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation.

An article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology evaluated the clinical and endoscopic features in Chinese patients with reflux esophagitis. This study was conducted by Dr. Wei Li of the Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated with the Capital Medical University.

Of 18,823 patients undergoing endoscopic examination, 1,405 (895 male and 510 female) patients were diagnosed as having reflux esophagitis, with a detection rate of 7.46% (male 9.13% and female 5.65%). The ratio of male to female patients was 1.75:1, with a significant difference. The age of onset was 15¨C89 years, with the mean age of 54.56 ¡À 14.19 years. The mean age of male and female patients was 53.82 ¡À 14.19 and 55.85 ¡À 14.08 years, respectively, with significant difference. The peak age of onset was 40¨C60 years for patients with reflux esophagitis. According to Los Angeles Classification, patients with grade A and B accounted for 90.1% of all patients. There were significant differences in the ages of patients with A and B compared with patients with grade C and D. A total of 277 patients were infected with H pylori , with a significantly decreased infection rate. Of the 1405 patients, 195 patients had associated esophageal hiatal hernia. Combination with esophageal hiatal hernia was not associated with the presence of H pylori infection and gender, but was significantly associated with the severity of esophagitis and age.

The results and conclusions demonstrated the peak age of onset was 40¨C60 years for patients with reflux esophagitis, with more male patients than female ones. The mean age of onset is lower in males than females. The infection rate of H pylori is significantly decreased in patients with esophagitis, but the severity of patients with esophagitis is not associated with H pylori infection. Old age and combination with esophageal hiatal hernia were associated with more severe esophagitis. Right esophageal mucosal damage can occur more often in patients with reflux esophagitis.

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Reference: Li W, Zhang ST, ZL. Clinical and endoscopic features of Chinese reflux esophagitis patients. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(12): 1866-1871 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/1866.asp

Correspondence to: Shu-Tian Zhang, Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated with the Capital Medical University; Faculty of Gastroenterology, Capital Medical University; Beijing Digestive Disease Center, Beijing 100050, China.

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection for providing a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

About The WJG Press

The WJG Press mainly publishes World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Source: Jing Zhu
World Journal of Gastroenterology

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