الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) have been considered as different conditions, but many studies discussed the relationship between them and concluded that GERD and LPR both are interlinked.
LPR pathological effect occurs directly through contact between the refluxed stomach contents and mucosal structures of the pharynx or indirectly by vagal reflex responses elicited due to irritation of the lower oesophagus chemoreceptors.
The exact cause of voice disorders in LPR disease has not really been established. It could be occurring due to histological changes in the vibratory margin mucosa of VFs; (e.g. inflammatory reactions, epithelial cell dehiscence, microtraumas, Reinke’s space dryness, mucosal drying, and epithelial thickening). These changes result in disturbance of biomechanical properties of the VFs tissue leading to aerodynamic disorders and disturbed vibratory cycle periodicity.
Although it is a very common condition, LPR is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Due to the pleomorphic unspecific clinical presentation and lack of reliable testing methods, there are no agreed upon diagnostic criteria for LPR.
Reflux symptoms index (RSI) and Reflux finding score (RFS) are the most popular clinical LPR tools developed for the diagnosis and the evaluation of treatment effectiveness.
Diet and lifestyle modifications are an important part of treatment in addition to PPIs for better improvement with respect to LPR symptoms and vocal affection.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of GERD on voice quality and to illustrate this effect through subjective and objective voice assessment tools in diagnosing voice changes in patients with GERD.
The study was carried on 60 patients diagnosed with GERD and were assessed at the unit of phoniatrics, ORL Department, Alexandria University.
The results show high prevalence of LPR symptoms and signs among GERD patients and affected voice quality subjectively and objectively.