Laryngopharyngeal reflux diagnosis: endoscopy vs pHmetry

Abstract

Background: the laryngopharyngeal reflux is an extra-esophageal variant of gastroesophageal reflux disease. This is the most extensively investigated extra-esophageal syndrome. It is defined as the reflux of gastric contents into the larynx and pharynx. The laryngeal symptoms and signs of laryngopharyngeal reflux are generally non-specific and there are not pathonomonic laryngoscopic signs.
Objectives: this study aims to correlate ear nose and throat manifestations of laryngopharyngeal reflux with nasofibrolaryngoscopy findings and esophageal pH monitoring.
Methods: retrospective study of medical records of patients with ear-nose and throat symptoms and nasofibroscopy suggestive of laryngopharyngeal reflux with normal digestive endoscopy that underwent subsequent pH monitoring.
Results: 33 medical records were found with a mean age of 29.18 years old ranging from 3 to 79 years old. A close relationship between nasofibrolaryngoscopy findings and pathological values of the DeMeester index.
Conclusion: we conclude that the more intense signals of laryngoscopy, the greater its degree of positivity in the pH monitoring.