Review article
GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE – A MULTIFACETED DISEASE
NINA BAŠIĆ MARKOVIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0001-6296-6394
; Specialist Family Medicine Office, Rijeka. Croatia
ROBERTA MARKOVIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0002-0232-0249
; University School of Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia
INES DIMINIĆ-LISICA
; University School of Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia
NIVES RADOŠEVIĆ QUADRANTI
; Primorje Gorski Kotar County, Community Health Department, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
Gastric content refl ux to the esophagus is a physiological phenomenon that occasionally occurs after meal. Gastroesophageal
refl ux disease (GERD) is a state that appears when the quantity of gastric content surpasses its physiological elimination from the esophagus and causes diffi culties with or without associated esophageal mucosa damage, as well as alarming symptoms. The symptoms are defi ned as alarming if they disturb the patient’s well-being and are the reason for a visit to the physician. The prevalence of GERD in the Western world is 10%-20% and is based on the estimation of the heartburn incidence as the leading symptom. The dominant symptoms are heartburn and regurgitation, especially after a heavy meal, and are highly specifi c for GERD. Extraesophageal refl ux disease represents a wide range of symptoms connected to the upper and lower respiratory system, such as cough, laryngitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hoarseness, sinusitis-postnasal drip syndrome, otitis media, recurrent pneumonia and laryngeal carcinoma. The following tests are used in the refl ux differential diagnosis: esophagogastroscopy, laryngoscopy and 24-hour pH monitoring. Patients suspected to suffer from GERD are initially treated with empirical proton pump inhibitor therapy twice a day for one to two months.
Keywords
gastroesophageal reflux disease; extraesophageal reflux disease; proton pump inhibitors
Hrčak ID:
154154
URI
Publication date:
12.3.2016.
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