Concomitant symptoms itemized in the Reflux Disease Questionnaire are associated with attenuated heartburn response to acid suppression.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) contains six symptom items for diagnosing and gauging gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) severity. However, clinical trials have generally focused only on the "substernal burning" item and limited data exist on the effect of concomitant items on the treatment response of "substernal burning".

METHODS:

Data from two large randomized trials of AZD0865 25-75 mg/day vs. esomeprazole 20 or 40 mg/day in patients with GERD defined by moderate to severe (≥ 4 days per week) "substernal burning" (non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), N = 1,460; reflux esophagitis (RE), N = 1,514) were re-analyzed. As no differences were found between drugs or doses in treatment response of "substernal burning", pooled data were used to determine the impact of additional RDQ items on the response of "substernal burning" to acid suppression.

RESULTS:

At baseline, patients reported an average of four RDQ items. "Substernal burning" was the most responsive to therapy in the 3.3% of individuals with this as their only baseline RDQ symptom. The report of any other RDQ item was associated with a reduction in the responsiveness of "substernal burning" to acid suppression (e.g., RE patients with high severity "dyspepsia-pain" had an odds ratio of 0.20 for an improvement in "substernal burning" to treatment).

CONCLUSIONS:

Other concomitant RDQ items, particularly "substernal pain" or "dyspepsia-pain", were associated with a reduced treatment effect of acid suppression on "substernal burning". These findings support the use of a more comprehensive assessment of disease state and treatment response in GERD trials and clinical practice.

• Authors: Peter J Kahrilas, Andreas Jonsson, Hans Denison, Börje Wernersson, Nesta Hughes, Colin W Howden
• Journal: The American journal of gastroenterology (Am J Gastroenterol) Vol. 107 Issue 9 Pg. 1354-60 (Sep 2012) ISSN: 1572-0241 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22777339 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anti-Ulcer Agents
• Esomeprazole

Topics

• Adult
• Anti-Ulcer Agents (therapeutic use)
• Esomeprazole (therapeutic use)
• Esophagitis, Peptic (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Gastroesophageal Reflux (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Heartburn (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Humans
• Retrospective Studies
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Treatment Outcome