The Relationship Between Laryngopharyngeal Reflux And Reflux Esophagitis

Main Category: Acid Reflux / GERD
Also Included In: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 13 Oct 2008 - 1:00 PST

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The association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and laryngeal disorders has been recognized since the late 1960s. Chronic laryngeal signs and symptoms associated GERD are often referred to as reflux laryngitis or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). However, the cause-and-effect relationship between GERD and LPR still remains elusive..

A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Dr. Yung-Chih Lai at Cathay General Hospital conducted the study to assess the prevalence rate of LPR in patients with reflux esophagitis and to disclose the factors contributing to the development of LPR.

A total of 167 patients proved to have reflux esophagitis by endoscopy were enrolled. They would receive laryngoscopy to grade the reflux findings for the diagnosis of LPR. A validated questionnaire was used to identify the presence of laryngopharyngeal symptoms. A stringent criteria of inclusion was adopted to increase the specificity of laryngoscopic findings. The data of patients were then analyzed statistically to find out factors related to LPR.

In their research, LPR was present and associated with reflux esophagitis. Age, hoarseness, and hiatus hernia were factors significantly associated with LPR. However, the development of LPR might be different from that of reflux esophagitis based on the findings of the study. The importance of hiatus hernia in LPR was revealed and deserves further study to elucidate in the future.

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Reference: Lai YC, Wang PC, Lin JC. Laryngopharyngeal reflux in patients with reflux esophagitis. World J Gastroenterol 2008;14(28): 4523-4528 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/4523.asp

Correspondence to: Dr. Yung-Chih Lai, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cathay General Hospital, 280, Section 4, Jen-Ai Road, Taipei 10630, Taiwan,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 and provides 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. 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: Lai-Fu Li
World Journal of Gastroenterology

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