Usefulness of Esophagography Using Digital Radiography in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux

Cho, Yong Ho; Kim, Heoung Kil; Jeong, Yong Yeon; Kang, Heoung Keun; Kim, Yun Hyeon; Seo, Jeong Jin; Jeong, Gwang Woo; Kim, Jae Kyu; Chung, Tae Woong; Park, Jin Gyoon; Yoon, Jong Hoon; Park, Seung Jin

Abstract

In patients with clincial findings suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), we evaluated clinical usefulness of barium esophagography using digital radiography (digital esophagography) in diagnosis of GERD and correlation between grade of reflux and severity of symptoms. Two hundred thirty-three patients with clinical findings suggestive of GERD were performed on digital radiography. We evaluated presence or absence of reflux and grade of reflux. The proximal level of refluxed barium was graded by classifying the reflux into five grades and severity of symptom was categorized as mild or severe. GERD was diagnosed in 167 patients (71.7%) among 233 patients. In 106 patients with mild symptom, 33 patients (31.1%) were grade 0, 26 patients (24.5%) were grade I, 26 patients (24.5%) were grade II, 14 patietns (13.3%) were grade III and 7 patients (6.6%) were grade IV. In 127 patients with severe symptom 33 patients (26.0%) were grade 0, 24 patients (18.9%) were grade I, 42 patients (33.1%) were grade II, 15 patients (11.8%) were grade III and 13 patients (10.2%) were grade IV. Severity of symptom and grade of reflux was statiscally not correlated (p>.05). In conclusion, digital radio-graphy is useful for screening as objective test in patients with clinical findings suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux, but severity of symptom and grade of reflux was not correlated.