Reviews
Systematic Review: esophageal motility patterns in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic disorder of the esophagus characterized by an eosinophil-predominant inflammation and symptoms of esophageal dysfunction. Eosinophils can influence esophageal motility, leading to dysphagia worsening. The spectrum of esophageal motility in EoE is uncertain.Latest insights into the hot question of proton pump inhibitor safety – a narrative review
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely prescribed medications worldwide and their use is continuously increasing. Although they have been shown to combine high therapeutic efficacy and good safety profile in many studies, in last years we have witnessed the publication of many articles reporting the possible association of long-term PPI therapy with important unexpected adverse events and these observations have created alarmism in both patients and physicians. However, the majority of these studies are observational, retrospective and prone to residual confounding.A SIGE-SINGEM-AIGO technical review on the clinical use of esophageal reflux monitoring
Patients with esophageal symptoms potentially associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease such as heartburn, regurgitation, chest pain, or cough represent one of the most frequent reasons for referral to gastroenterological evaluation. The utility of esophageal reflux monitoring in clinical practice is: (1) to accurately define reflux burden, (2) to segregate patients according to reflux monitoring results as true GERD, reflux hypersensitivity and functional heartburn, and (3) to establish a treatment plan.Apnea in preterm neonates: what's the role of gastroesophageal reflux? A systematic review
A causal relationship between gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) and apnea in preterm infants has been frequently hypothesized and is currently debated. The present study aims at reviewing the currently available scientific evidence, in order to clarify the role of GER on the occurrence of apnea and to help improving the clinical management of apneic preterm neonates. We performed a systematic literature search to identify all the clinical studies on preterm neonates that properly assessed the relationship between apnea and GER.Are proton pump inhibitors really so dangerous?
For decades, millions of patients with acid-related disorders have had their acid inhibited effectively and safely first with H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and then with proton pump inhibitors (PPI). As with any pharmacological agent, PPIs have been reported to be associated with some adverse events, but several recent large-scale observational studies have evidenced new and serious abnormalities generally linked to their chronic use. However, these studies have often important limitations for their frequent retrospective design and other methodological drawbacks, such as selection biases of the analyzed populations and the presence of various confounding factors.Barrett's esophagus in children: Does it need more attention?
Few studies have reported on Barrett's esophagus (BE) in children. Moreover, information on the age at diagnosis and the duration between reflux-symptoms and diagnosis is lacking.The lessons learned from randomized clinical trials of GERD
Despite the huge number of randomized controlled clinical trials published on gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, the translation of the information gathered into clinical practice is rather limited. The aim of this article is to summarize the results of pivotal randomized controlled clinical trials and review articles on reflux disease and evaluate to what extent their results can be applied to current clinical practice. We reviewed the most relevant randomized controlled clinical trials and reviews since the publication of the first randomized controlled clinical trial on reflux oesophagitis (1978) to date.
