Abstract
Background/Aims
Globus is a persistent or intermittent non-painful sensation of a lump or foreign body in the throat and a commonly encountered clinical condition. We aim to evaluate the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to determine the parameters for predicting the response to treatment with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) using wireless pH monitoring in patients with globus sense.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 37 patients with atypical GERD symptoms. A total of 27 patients with dominant globus sense were enrolled. Endoscopic examination and 48-hour wireless esophageal pH monitoring were performed, and the patients underwent a therapeutic trial of full dose PPIs daily over a period of 4 weeks.
Results
Both typical and atypical GERD symptoms co-existed in 14 patients (51.9%, 14/27). According to ROME III criteria, 19 patients (70.4%, 19/27) were diagnosed as GERD. Twelve patients (44.4%, 12/27) were PPI responders. A significant difference in the frequency of symptom index (+) or symptom associated probability (+) was observed between the PPI responder group and the non-responder group (p<0.01).
References
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Table 1.
Characteristic | GERD (n=19) | Non-GERD (n=8) | p-value a |
---|---|---|---|
Sex (M : F) | 11 : 8 | 4 : 4 | 0.775 |
Age (yr) | 52.8±11 | 53.7±10 | 0.440 |
Typical symptom (heartburn or acid regurgitation) | 12 (63.2) | 2 (25.0) | 0.187 |
PPI response | 10 (52.6) | 2 (25.0) | 0.070 |
Pathologic esophageal acid reflux | 11 (57.9) | 0 | - |
SI/SAP positive | 14 (73.7) | 0 | - |
Table 2.
Variable | PPI response(+) (n=12, 44.4%) | PPI response(−) (n=15, 55.6%) | p-value a |
---|---|---|---|
GERD | 10 (83.3) | 9 (60.0) | 0.187 |
SI/SAP positive | 10 (83.3) | 4 (26.7) | 0.003 |
Pathologic esophageal acid reflux | 4 (33.3) | 7 (46.7) | 0.484 |
The presence of typical symptoms (heartburn, acid regurgitation) | 7 (58.3) | 7 (46.7) | 0.547 |