Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
3265353 | Digestive and Liver Disease | 2008 | 7 Pages |
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.