Reflux oesophagitis in Italy (Diomede project)

AimsA multicentric observational study was performed to update the available information on reflux oesophagitis in Italy.MethodsIn phase I, the number and severity of reflux oesophagitis diagnosed in 1 year (2003) were reported together with the associated endoscopic findings. In phase II, oesophagitis patients consecutively referred in a 3-month period were analysed. A multivariate analysis was used to identify the risk factors for severe oesophagitis.Results253,992 upper endoscopies were collected. The overall prevalence of oesophagitis was 14.8% and the endoscopic findings associated with oesophagitis were hiatus hernia (46.3%), duodenal ulcer (10.7%), gastric ulcer (3.6%) and Barrett's oesophagus (2.9%). In phase II, 1542 reflux oesophagitis patients were analysed (60.3% males; mean age 50.7 ± 16.6 years). Only 53.4% of patients reported heartburn and/or regurgitation as main complaint. Severe symptoms, age >50 years, hiatus hernia and male gender were identified as independent predictors of severe oesophagitis.ConclusionsOesophagitis is the most frequent among the peptic diseases of the upper gastro-intestinal tract. Only half of the oesophagitis patients reported typical reflux symptoms as dominant. Advanced age, male gender, severe symptoms and hiatus hernia were independent risk factors for severe disease.