title: Acidic and neutral liquid ingestion in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sour acidic liquid has a slower distal esophageal transit than a neutral liquid. Our hypothesis was that an acidic sour bolus has a different ingestion dynamic than a neutral bolus.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 50 healthy volunteers and 29 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), we evaluated the ingestion dynamics of 100 mL of acidic sour liquid (concentrated lemon juice, pH: 3.0) and 100 mL of water (pH: 6.8). The time to ingest the total volume, the number of swallows to ingest the volume, the interval between swallows, the flux of ingestion and the volume ingested in each swallow was measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, healthy volunteers and patients in treatment for GERD, the acidic liquid took longer to be ingested, a higher number of swallows, a slower flux of ingestion and a smaller volume in each swallow than the neutral bolus. There was no difference between healthy volunteers and patients with GERD. The ingestion in women was longer than in men for acidic and neutral liquids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acidic liquid has a different dynamic of ingestion than the neutral liquid, which may be consequence of the slower transit through the distal esophageal body or an anticipation to drink a sour bolus. Patients with GERD have the same prolonged ingestion of the acidic liquid bolus as seen in healthy volunteers.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Dafne Calsoni
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Roberto Oliveira
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Dantas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001628:Beverages; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002957:Citrus; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D050782:Esophageal pH Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D013649:Taste; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water