Gastroenterology · Overview · 2 min read
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
GERD is chronic retrograde flow of gastric contents into the esophagus producing heartburn, regurgitation, or mucosal injury. Lifestyle modification plus PPI therapy controls symptoms in roughly 80% of patients.
Key points
- Pathophysiology centers on inappropriate LES relaxation; baseline tone falls below 10 mmHg in pathologic reflux.
- Most patients are diagnosed clinically and treated empirically; endoscopy is reserved for alarm features.
- Alarm features after age 60 (weight loss, dysphagia, hematemesis) mandate prompt endoscopy.
- PPIs taken 30 minutes before the first meal achieve symptom control in roughly 80% of patients.
- Barrett esophagus progresses to adenocarcinoma at about 0.3% per year; surveillance every 3 to 5 years.
Exam relevance
USMLE Step 2PLAB 2MRCP
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