A Study on the Correlation Between Endoscopic Findings and Symptoms of Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease

Background and Aim: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a physiological passage of stomach contents into the esophagus. It is basically the pathological complications and symptoms. Endoscopy is a gold standard investigation tool that eliminates the gastroesophageal reflux disease co-morbidities such as malignancy and Barret’s esophagus. The present study was carried out to evaluate the correlation between endoscopic findings and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Materials and Methods: This intervention cross-sectional study was carried out on 109 gastro esophageal reflux disease patients in Gastroenterology department of Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad for six months duration from January 2021 to June 2021. Suspected gastroesophageal reflux disease patients were assessed thoroughly by physical examination, history, and endoscopy for gastrointestinal symptoms. Severity, symptom type, duration, and frequency were assessed as clinical symptoms. The upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings were evaluated in terms of esophageal erosions, and their grades such as Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, and Grade D. The endoscopy abnormal findings such as hernia, esophagus, malignancy, and Barret’s esophagus were correlated with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Result: Out of 109 patients, 78 (71.5%) were females while 31 (28.5%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 43.54 ± 7.3 years with an age range between 25 and 67 years and the mean BMI was 43.34 ± 5.76 kg/m2. Gastro esophageal reflux disease symptoms such as malignancy and Barrett’s esophagus shown no evidence on pre-operative endoscopy. About 29 (26.6%) patients had normal endoscopy. The symptomatic patients were 80 (73.4%) which were categorized based on LA classifications into Grade A 62 (77.5%), Grade B 13 (16.3%), Grade C 3 (3.8%) and Grade D 2 (2.5%). Based on the reflux score system, patients were distributed as mild 43 (53.8%), moderate 11 (13.8%), severe 5 (6.3%), and very severe 21 (26.3%). Conclusion: Our study found a significant correlation between gastro esophageal reflux disease and endoscopy esophagitis findings. Pre-operative endoscopy should be carried for abnormal endoscopy in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Keywords: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, Endoscopy, Esophagitis