The ability to reproduce chest pain and to identify the esophagus as the source of this pain are the major reasons why provocation testing has become standard in the evaluation of patients with noncardiac chest pain. Recent studies that challenge the validity of performing provocation tests have polarized experts into two camps: those who would abandon such testing because of its low sensitivit...

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common diagnoses in a gastroenterologist's practice. Gastroesophageal reflux describes the retrograde movement of gastric contents through the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to the esophagus. It is a common, normal phenomenon which may occur with or without accompanying symptoms. Symptoms associated with GERD include heartburn, acid re...

BACKGROUND There is a large consensus to preserve the distance of 5 cm above the proximal border of the lower esophageal sphincter (PBLES) as appropriate to the location of the electrode of the pH-metry. The main objective of this study is to determine whether placement of the electrode below the recommended location achieves a significant difference in the calculation of the DeMeester score. ...

The 24-hour esophageal pH-metry is the most widely used method to diagnose the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The study compares the different scores obtained during the 24-hour esophageal pH-metry. A retrospective study over 5 years including 234 children (1 month and 18 years old) admitted in a pediatric gastroenterology regional center in Northeast Romania, with suspicion of GERD. T...

Background: Esophageal pH monitoring in conjunction with multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII-pH) is now considered the most accurate method for detection and characterization of gastro-esophageal reflux (GER), with higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting reflux than esophageal pH monitoring alone. Aims: One possibly limiting factor for using MII-pH testing is the time required to a...

HYPOTHESIS Traditionally, patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease fall into 3 categories based on 24-hour pH testing and the clinical occurrence of their acid exposure. Patients with upright reflux are believed to do worse following surgery compared with supine or bipositional reflux patients. We assessed objective postoperative outcomes for patients with upright, supine, and bipositional...

OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical value of pharyngeal pH monitoring for the diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) by using a double-probe, triple-sensor catheter in patients with symptoms of LPR. DESIGN Prospective review of pH values recorded at the pharyngeal sensor, with the sensor placed in the proximal esophagus in patients with suspected LPR. SETTING Tertiary care university h...

BACKGROUND Wireless capsule pH-metry (WC) is better tolerated than standard nasal pH catheter (SC), but endoscopic placement is expensive. AIMS to confirm that non-endoscopic peroral manometric placement of WC is as effective and better tolerated than SC and to perform a cost analysis of the available esophageal pH-metry methods. METHODS Randomized trial at 2 centers. Patients referred for ...