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Objective: The diagnosis of RGERD in patients typically involves 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring, but due to its invasiveness and low patient compliance, new screening methods are needed. In this study, a lactulose breath test (LBT) was conducted to detect the growth of small intestine bacteria (SIBO) and explore the potential relationship between LBT and RGERD to identify a new treatment method for RGERD. Methods: A total of 178 patients with gastroesophageal reflux were enrolled from June 2020 to December 2022 in the Gastroenterology Department, Building 3, the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University; these patients included 96 patients with nonrefractory GERD (NRGERD) and 82 patients with RGERD. The Gerd Q score, reflux symptom index (RSI) score, gastroscopy results, clinical symptoms, and other related indicators were collected. Statistical methods were used to analyze the gathered data. Results: The incidence of acid reflux and heartburn in patients with RGERD was significantly greater than that in patients with NRGERD (67.10% vs. 42.70%, P 0.05). The incidence of nausea was also greater in the CH 4 -positive group than in the CH 4 -negative group (61.90% vs. 35.00%, P <0.05). Conclusion: Increased CH 4 levels are correlated with RGERD. In addition, patients with RGERD may develop SIBO after long-term use of PPIs, and interventions involving SIBO could provide new ideas for the treatment of RGERD.
Xu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.