BACKGROUND None of current diagnostic methods has been proven to be a reliable tool for gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Pepsin in saliva has been proposed as a promising diagnostic biomarker for gastro-esophageal reflux. We aimed to determine the diagnostic value of salivary pepsin detection for GERD. METHODS Two hundred and fifty patients with symptoms suggestive of GERD and 35 asym...

Premature neonates of very low birth weight (VLBW) whose treatment required the use of naso-gastric tube feeding were investigated. 10 infants suspected of having GERD (gastroesophageal reflux) received oral lansoprazole therapy by tube administration. 9 other infants formed a control group. In the treated group a fasting pH was determined before treatment and again after 7 days treatment. The ...

Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is a condition that is increasingly being recognized as a significant driver of increased patient morbidity as well as health care costs via frequent utilization of health care services. While an exact definition of NCCP has not been outlined, one prevalent description is recurrent chest pain that is indistinguishable from ischemic heart pain after a reasonable wor...

BACKGROUND Acid gastroesophageal reflux is a common problem in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis and COPD. Invasive methods are used to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux, but the ability to detect pulmonary microaspiration of gastric contents using this method is unclear. A noninvasive option to detect pulmonary microaspiration is to measure pepsin in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), but this h...

Esophagitis in cats and dogs is a consequence of increased exposure the esophageal mucosa to gastroduodenal reflux. Causes can include anesthesia-related reflux, frequent vomiting, or lodged foreign bodies. An exception eosinophilic esophagitis, an emerging primary inflammatory disease esophagus with presumed allergic etiology. Reflux esophagitis owing lower sphincter incompetence often suspect...