Dietary weight loss intervention provides improvement of gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms-A randomized clinical trial.

To evaluate the effect of dietary interventions aimed at weight loss in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and general health-related quality of life (HRQL) in overweight and obese patients. A population of GERD patients were randomized into two groups: the intervention group received individualized dietary counselling on scheduled appointments throughout 6 months of follow-up (n = 31) and the control group received only informative dietary guidelines on baseline (n = 31). Anthropometric data were monthly collected, and the HRQL score for GERD (GERD-HRQL) and the Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were applied on baseline and reevaluated at the end of follow-up. Dietary intervention led to an average weight loss of 4.4 kg (±5.3) and an average BMI reduction of 1.7 kg/m2 (±2.9) compared to an increase in weight of 2.1 kg (±4.4) (p < .001) and an increase in BMI of 1.3 (±6.3) (p = 0.023) in the control group. Individuals in the intervention group had a mean decrease in symptoms of 6.8 (±5.5) points while the control group had worsening of their symptoms with an increase of 3.3 (±4) points (p < .001) in the disease-specific questionnaire. There was a positive association between weight loss and reduction of symptoms as measured by the GERD-HRQL score (r = .49; p < .001). Dietary intervention for 6 months with an individualized low-calorie diet program produces weight loss and a significant improvement in GERD-related symptoms, as well as in HRQL.

Echoendoscopy in Preoperative Evaluation of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Gastroesophageal Junction: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Esophageal adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction constitute a global health problem, the incidence of which has increased in recent decades. It has a poor prognosis and a low 5-year survival rate. Its treatment is based on preoperative clinical staging, in which echoendoscopy plays an essential role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current accuracy of echoendoscopy in the staging of esophageal and esophogogastric junction adenocarcinomas. A systematic review was performed in PubMed, Embase and Portal BVS using the search terms Esophageal Neoplasm, Esophagus Neoplasms, Esophagus Cancers, Esophageal Cancers, EUS, EUS-FNA, Endoscopic Ultrasonography, Echo Endoscopy, Endosonographies and Endoscopic Ultrasound, with subsequent meta-analysis of the data found. The accuracy of tumor (T) staging was 65.55%. For T1, sensitivity was 64.7%, and specificity 89.1%, with an accuracy of 89.6%. For T2, sensitivity and specificity were 35.7% and 89.2%, respectively, with an accuracy of 87.1%. For T3, sensitivity and specificity were 82.5% and 83%, respectively, with an accuracy of 87%. For T4, sensitivity and specificity were 38.6% and 94%, respectively, with an accuracy of 66.4%. For node (N) staging, sensitivity was 77.3% and specificity 67.4%, with an accuracy of 77.9%. Echoendoscopy exhibits suboptimal accuracy in preoperative staging of esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophagogastric junction.