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المستخلص
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is considered a major problem interfering with daily activity of the individuals suffering from it. GERD causes many disorders of the esophagus, but the condition may also contribute to asthma and even be a major cause of noncardiac chest pain. Physicians need to be aware of various other manifestations of GERD to treat them appropriately. Drs Burton, Murray, and Thompson explore GERD as the cause of ear, nose, and throat conditions, such as chronic cough, voice change, hoarseness, globus, and otalgia, (Burton , et al. 2005).
GERD encompasses a spectrum of clinical presentations in which gastric content refluxes into the esophagus, leading to symptoms with or without visible damage to the esophageal mucosa. It is a clinical diagnosis that may be objectively confirmed by a number of diagnostic tests. The manifestations of GERD can be generally divided into three categories; typical symptoms (heartburn and regurgitation), atypical symptoms (angina-like chest pain, asthma, cough, and laryngitis), and complications (ulcerations, strictures, and metaplastic changes or Barrett’s esophagus) (Locke , et al. 1997).
Heartburn, the cardinal symptom of GERD, is common and typically occurs within 2 hours after eating or while lying recumbent and it would seem to be more of an annoyance than a serious medical condition and in many patients, it has a major impact on the quality of life (Locke , et al. 1997).
Epidemiologic studies have shown that daily heartburn occurs in about 10% of the United States (US) adult population and that approximately 40% of population have heartburn at least once a month.