ABSTRACT
Cough, the most common symptom, encountered in the outpatient clinic can be caused by various underlying diseases. It defines as chronic cough that the duration of cough is more than 8 weeks with a normal chest X-ray findings. The cause of cough can be found out for more than 90% through the appropriate diagnostic approach and Upper airway cough syndrome, Asthma and Gastroesophageal reflex disease are the most common causes of disease to non-smokers. Chronic cough can be due to not one reason but various reasons and achieve good results by a systematic approach to diagnosis and a concrete treatment on the basis of the sufficient understanding of the underlying disease.
Subject(s)
Ambulatory Care Facilities , Asthma , Cough , Diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Reflex , ThoraxABSTRACT
La enfermedad por reflujo gastroesofágico (ERGE) es uno de los trastornos gastrointestinales con mayor prevalencia; afecta del 10 a 15% de la población general constituyendo una causa frecuente de consulta. Sin embargo, existen pocos reportes acerca de la prevalencia de ERGE en la población general. Objetivos: Determinar la prevalencia de ERGE en la población general adulta del área metropolitana de Caracas y estudiar algunos factores asociados a esta enfermedad. Materiales y métodos: Estudio de corte transversal, realizado en la población general adulta del área metropolitana de Caracas en abril de 2007. Se utilizó una encuesta basada en criterios clínicos epidemiológicos de acuerdo a consensos latinoamericanos y europeos sobre la ERGE. Para el análisis de los resultados se calcularon promedios, medianas y porcentajes. Resultados: De 389 sujetos encuestados, 223 fueron mujeres (57,3%) y 166 hombres (42,7%). El promedio de edad fue 33,89 años. La prevalencia de síntomas cardinales en la ERGE fue 19,02%. En los sujetos con ERGE encontramos que 47,3% ingerían licor al menos un vez al mes, y 21,6% referían hábitos tabáquicos. Conclusión: Se determinó que la prevalencia de la ERGE en la población general adulta del área Metropolitana de Caracas fue de 19,02% encontrándose asociación con el hábito alcohólico.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the gastrointestinals problems with higher prevalence; it affects 10 to 15% of the general population being a frequent cause of medical visit. Nevertheless, there is low number of reports about GERD prevalence. Objectives: to determine GERD prevalence in adult population of the Caracas Metropolitan Area and study some related factors to this disease. Materials and methods: Study of transversal cut, made in adult population in Caracas Metropolitan Area in April 2007. A poll based in clinical and epidemiological criteria in accordance with a Latin- American and European consensus about GERD was used. To analize the results averages, medians and percentages were calculated. Results: of 389 subjects surveyed, 223 were women (57,3%) and 166 were men (42,7%). The mean age of the patients was 33 years old. The cardinals symptoms prevalence was 19,02%. In subjects with GERD we found that 47,3% drank alcohol at least once a week, and 21,6% were smokers. In Conclusion, we found that GERD prevalence in adult population of the Caracas Metropolitan Area was 19, 02% finding a relationship with alcoholic habit.