ABSTRACT
Rumination syndrome is defined as a regurgitation of recently ingested food into the mouth with subsequent remastication and reswallowing or spitting out, and absence of structural disease. This is infrequent in adults of normal mental capacity. The true prevalence of rumination syndrome is unknown because few people have medical attention and most of physicians do not recognize this syndrome as a disease. Upper gastrointestinal manometry has been reported to show a characteristic pattern that confirms the diagnosis, namely, the occurrence of synchronous pressure spikes termed "R waves" at all levels in the stomach and small intestine. We assessed a 49-year-old male patient who complained of frequent effortless regurgitation of food. Ambulatory short-segment antroduodenal manometry with pH-metry showed simultaneous repeatetive contractions in all segments associated with regurgitation.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Diagnosis , Intestine, Small , Manometry , Mouth , Prevalence , StomachABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The relationship between the symptoms and severity of GERD may be difficult to prove. The intensity and frequency of reflux induced symptoms are poor predictors of the presence or severity of an endoscopic mucosal break. The aim of this study was to determine which factors can be predicted by the presence of GERD symptoms among esophageal sensitivity to acid, abnormal acid reflux, and severity of esophagitis in pateints with reflux esophagitis. METHODS: Fourty-four patients who were diagnosed with reflux esophagitis by an endoscopy at a tertiary medical facility, were given a validated questionnaire, and underwent an acid perfusion test, 24 hr ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring, and esophageal manometry. These patients were divided into a symptomatic group and asymptomatic group according to the questionaire. Comparisons between the two groups for each factor were analyzed by Chi-square. RESULT: Of 44 patients, 26 had symptoms and 18 did not. The positive and equivocal rates of the acid perfusion test were not different between the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups (47% vs. 39%). The abnormal reflux rate (DeMeester score > 14.72) from pH monitoring was significantly higher in the symptomatic group than in the asymptomatic group (65% vs. 28%, p < 0.05). The severity of esophagitis, presence of a hiatal hernia, and abnormal esophageal manometric findings were not different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: It would be impossible to predict esophageal sensitivity to acid, severity of the esophagitis grade, and the presence of hiatal hernia with GERD symptoms, but it could be possible to predict abnormal gastroesophageal reflux.