The Clinical Feature of Reflux Esophagitis Patients Visiting a Single Korean Medicine Hospital: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated the clinical characteristics and symptoms of patients with reflux esophagitis (RE) visiting a Korean medicine hospital.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with an RE diagnosis who visited a Korean medicine hospital from June 15, 2020, to April 15, 2021. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and the results of a symptoms questionnaire.Results: Our sample included 1,151 patients (711 females). The median age was 58 years; the most common age bracket was 60-69 years. A total of 837 patients (72.7%) presented with symptoms lasting more than one year, and 1,035 (89.9%) had been prescribed medications for more than three months before visiting a Korean medicine hospital. Belching (77.6%) and acid regurgitation (70.9%) were the most frequent symptoms, followed by epigastric pain (61.6%) and throat globus (58.5%). Throat globus was the most bothersome symptom, and 72.4% of the patients experienced the symptom on more than five days in the preceding two weeks. Patients with a longer symptom duration were older (p<0.01) and more likely to be overweight (p=0.03). Patients experiencing symptoms for more than five years were more likely to report throat globus (p=0.02), hoarseness (p<0.01), and coughing (p<0.01).Conclusions: Most RE patients visiting a Korean medicine hospital were females in their sixties with chronic and refractory RE. Atypical symptoms (belching, epigastric pain, and throat globus) were common. Throat globus was highly prevalent in severe cases, suggesting that it warrants attention when treating RE patients.

Effectiveness analysis of herbal medicine for gastroesophageal reflux disease: A retrospective study

“…[15] (3) GerdQ [17] : The Korean version of GerdQ consists of 6 items and can be easily administered to suspected GERD patients for initial diagnosis or posttreatment follow-up. [8] The questionnaire comprises of 4 positive predictors of GERD (heartburn, regurgitation, sleep disturbance, and use of over-the-counter medication in addition to that prescribed) and 2 negative predictors of GERD (epigastric pain and nausea). Items were graded; scores ranging from 0 to 3 were applied for the positive predictors and from 3 to 0 for the negative predictors and calculated as the sum of all scores 0 to 18.…”

“…[ 7 ] A retrospective study published in 2021 analyzed the medical records of 1151 patients with GERD who received KM including HM at hospital as an intervention for GERD and found that most patients visiting KM hospitals were females in their sixties with chronic and refractory reflux esophagitis. [ 8 ] Several studies have explored the effectiveness of HM interventions for GERD. A case series of patients with GERD treated with Ljintang-Gamibang and acupuncture showed that HM with acupuncture significantly reduced the patients’ symptoms and improved their Quality Of Life (QOL).…”