ABSTRACT
Background: Duodenogastric reflux is a normal event that can be deleterious to the esophagic or gastric mucosa, depending on its magnitude, persistence, composition and gastric pH. There is not a definitive method to measure this phenomenon. Aim: to compare the endoscopic visualization of duodenogastric reflux with the quantification of total bile acids in fasting gastric content (QTBA). Patients and methods: The presence of duodenogastric reflux, defined as the stainig of gastric walls with bile during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, was assessed in 62 patients (26 male), aged 21 to 73 years old. During the week after the endoscopy a sample of fasting gastric content was obtained to measure QTBA, using an enzymatic method. Results: Median QTBA was 0.205 umol/gastric residue. Fourteen of 31 patients with QTBA values over the median had endoscopically visible duodenogastric reflux, whereas 1 of 31 with values below the median had visible reflux (p<0.001). Conclusions: Endoscopic visualization of duodenogastric reflux is statistically associated to the quantitation of total bile acids in fasting gastric residue