OBJECTIVE:
Heartburn and regurgitation are the most common
gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and
dysphagia could be a possible symptom. This investigation aimed to evaluate the
prevalence of non-obstructive
dysphagia in
patients with
heartburn and regurgitation.
METHODS:
A total of 147
patients (age, 20-70 years;
women, 72%) complaining of
heartburn and regurgitation, without
esophageal stricture, previous esophageal
surgery, or other
diseases, were evaluated. Twenty-seven
patients had
esophagitis. The
Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) was employed to screen for
dysphagia; EAT-10 is composed of 10 items, and the
patients rate each item from 0 to 4 (0, no problems; 4, most severe symptom). Results of the 147
patients were compared with those of 417
healthy volunteers (
women, 62%;
control group)
aged 20-68 years.
RESULTS:
In the
control group, only two (0.5%) had an EAT-10 score ≥5, which was chosen as the threshold to define
dysphagia. EAT-10 scores ≥5 were found in 71 (48.3%)
patients and in 55% of the
patients with
esophagitis and 47% of the
patients without
esophagitis. This finding indicates a relatively higher
prevalence of perceived
dysphagia in
patients with
heartburn and regurgitation and in
patients with
esophagitis. We also found a positive correlation between EAT-10 scores and the severity of
gastroesophageal reflux symptoms based on the Velanovich scale.
CONCLUSION:
In
patients with
heartburn and regurgitation symptoms, the
prevalence of
dysphagia was at least 48%, and has a positive correlation with the overall symptoms of
gastroesophageal reflux.