title: The use of frequency scale for the symptoms of GERD in assessment of gastro-oesophageal reflex symptoms in asthma.
abstract: In adult asthmatics the incidence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) reportedly ranges from 34% to 89%. Oesophageal pH monitoring and endoscopy are not required in the patient with typical GERD symptoms before the initiation of a therapeutic trial. Diagnosis of GERD on the basis of history is the simplest and quickest method, placing no demand on patients. Recently, a new questionnaire (FSSG; Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD) was produced to evaluate the severity and the therapeutic response of GERD. The FSSG (F-scale) was used to assess the GERD in subjects with persistent moderate to severe asthma treated with anti-inflammatory asthma medication. In the present study, 27.4% of the patients with asthma had symptoms suggestive of GERD. There is significant correlation between GERD symptom (F-scale score) and severity of cough and sputum. The observations suggested that reflux symptoms, not gastric dysmotility symptoms, significantly associated with severity of cough, not of sputum. It is the first such study to use a FSSG as incidence of GERD symptoms in asthmatics and examine the relationship between F-scale score and asthmatic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Disease and Neurology, Third Department of Internal Medicine, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Idaigaoka 1-1, Hasama-machi, Oita 879-5593, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Matsuno
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitajima
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hiroshige
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishitake
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kumamoto
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003371:Cough; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013183:Sputum; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires