title: Prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Investigation of the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
  
  
  METHODS
  299 subjects with GERD were submitted to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring and a symptom analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic respiratory symptoms or diseases were present in 18% (56/299). Chronic cough was observed in 42/56 patients, while typical reflux symptoms such as heartburn and acid regurgitation were observed in 30/56 and 24/56 cases, respectively. The prevalence of airway diseases was chronic bronchitis 12/56, asthma 10/56, recurrent pneumonia 10/56, chronic sinusitis 7/56 and chronic laryngitis 1/56. In patients with respiratory complications pathologic acid reflux was established in 29/51 cases on the basis of the DeMeester score, while 17/51 had pathologic postprandial, nocturnal or diurnal reflux events. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a normal esophageal mucosa in 6/56, Savary-Miller stage I esophagitis in 23/56, stage II in 15/56, stage III in 5/56 and stage IV in 6/56 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These investigations have demonstrated an abnormal 24-hour pH score in about half of the patients with GERD-associated respiratory complications, and indicated that short reflux events are characteristic of the reflux activity in one third of this population.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Richárd
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Róka
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosztóczy
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Izbéki
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Taybani
authors.forename: Ildikó
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lonovics
authors.forename: Tibor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wittmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D004947:Esophagus / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*