Brief Questioning by Nursing Staffs before Endoscopic Examination May Not Always Pick Up Clinical Symptoms of Endoscopic Reflux Esophagitis

Arm span-height difference is correlated with gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in aged Japanese subjects

Previous studies have indicated an association between the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and aging plus height. In this study we investigated whether the arm span–height difference was related to GERD symptoms with a focus on aged subjects in the general population, since the arm span reflects the height in young adulthood before decreasing due to vertebral deformities from aging. A total of 285 elderly individuals (105 females) who visited nursing homes for the elderly in Japan were enrolled in this study. The GERD symptoms were evaluated by the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD (FSSG). The body weight, height and arm span were measured, and information regarding medications and complications were reviewed in each nursing record. 50.5% of women had more than 3 cm of arm span–height difference. In contrast, only 37.3% of men had more than 3 cm of arm span–height difference. The FSSG scores indicated more than 70% of subjects complained of any GERD symptoms. There was a significant correlation between the FSSG score and the arm span–height difference in the subjects with more than 3 cm of arm span-height difference (r = 0.236; p = 0.012). The correlation between the arm span–height difference and the FSSG score was significant only in women in females in the present study. In conclusion, our findings indicate that vertebral deformity evaluated by the arm span–height difference might have some positive relationship to the pathogenesis of GERD symptoms in elderly Japanese individuals.

The daily response for proton pump inhibitor treatment in Japanese reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease

We investigated comparison according to reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease about “daily” symptom improvement for proton pump inhibitor treatment. We enrolled 57 reflux esophagitis and 90 non-erosive reflux disease patients. They took rabeprazole 10 mg/day for 28 days and completed “daily” in the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD from baseline until day 14, and after 28 days of treatment. The efficacy endpoint was the improvement rates in Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD, based on baseline. Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD was decreased in reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease (p<0.001) and was significantly lower in reflux esophagitis than in non-erosive reflux disease from the first day of treatment (p<0.05). Symptomatic improvement rates were also significantly higher in reflux esophagitis (50.3 ± 44.9%) than in non-erosive reflux disease (31.7 ± 43.2%) from the first day of treatment (p<0.0001). The symptomatic improvement rates in reflux esophagitis were significant increased from the second day of treatment until after 28 days of treatment (p = 0.0006), however, these in non-erosive reflux disease were significant increased from third days until after 28 days of treatment (p = 0.0002). In non-erosive reflux disease, the improvement of dysmotility symptom was particularly gradual as well as of reflux symptom, too. As for results of prediction of proton pump inhibitor response (completed symptom resolution) form early symptom improvement within 1 week, it was able to predict proton pump inhibitor response from the symptom improvement rate on 3 days in reflux esophagitis and on day 7 in non-erosive reflux disease. In conclusion, the prediction of the proton pump inhibitor response in non-erosive reflux disease was slow in comparison with reflux esophagitis. The cause was gradual improvement of dysmotility symptom.

Clinical symptoms of FSSG in gastroesophageal reflux disease are critical for PPI treatment: Japanese multi-centers with 185 patients

AIM

The main aim of this study was to determine whether questionnaire evaluations of clinical symptoms in gastroesophageal reflux disease were useful to assess proton pump inhibitor therapy.

METHODS

A total of 185 Japanese patients (men, 88; women, 97; age: 55.7 ± 16.1 years) with gastroesophageal reflux disease were enrolled. The patients were divided based on the frequency scale for symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease: severe symptoms with scores ≥8 and mild symptoms with scores ≤7. Quality of life was evaluated with the Medical Outcomes Study 8-Item Short-Form Health Survey. All patients were treated with a proton pump inhibitor, rabeprazole (10 mg/day), for 8 weeks.

RESULTS

Patients were classified into four groups: reflux esophagitis with severe symptoms (n = 92, 49.7%); reflux esophagitis with mild symptoms (n = 17, 9.2%); non-erosive reflux disease with severe symptoms (n = 66, 35.7%); and non-erosive reflux disease with mild symptoms (n = 10, 5.4%). The dysmotility score was high in non-erosive reflux disease with severe symptoms compared with reflux esophagitis with severe symptoms (9.1 ± 0.5 vs 6.8 ± 0.5, P < 0.05). The symptom score and quality of life in the severe symptoms groups for both reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease were significantly improved by rabeprazole treatment. Only the reflux score was improved by rabeprazole in the reflux esophagitis with mild symptoms group; no therapeutic effect was observed for the non-erosive reflux disease with mild symptoms group.

CONCLUSIONS

Low scores on the frequency scale for the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease indicate poor responsiveness to proton pump inhibitor treatment, and high scores indicate good responsiveness.

Safety and efficacy of long-term maintenance therapy with oral dose of rabeprazole 10 mg once daily in Japanese patients with reflux esophagitis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-term proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment for two years in Japanese patients with reflux esophagitis (RE).

METHODS

The efficacy and safety of two-year (104-week) treatment with rabeprazole (RPZ) 10 mg were studied in patients confirmed to have been cured of RE by PPI and who required long-term maintenance therapy with PPI. We performed serial endoscopy, checked gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms, adverse events, laboratory values and serum gastrin. We also monitored gastric mucosal histology, atrophy and polyps.

RESULTS

The endoscopic non-relapse rate for RE was 87.3% for the 104-week period. GERD symptoms improved based on the fact that the mean change from baseline in GERD symptom score after treatment was a negative value. Treatment was safe; and atrophy was found to have developed in virtually no cases. A few new benign fundic gland or hyperplastic polyps developed throughout the study, but no ECL carcinoids were found to have developed. Serum gastrin levels tended to increase up to 24 weeks, but there were no subsequent changes thereafter up to 104 weeks.

CONCLUSION

The results confirmed oral RPZ 10 mg to be effective for maintenance therapy in Japanese patients with RE. Although effects on the gastric mucosa were not ruled out, long-term use of RPZ was confirmed to be safe overall.