Analysis of GERD Symptoms Using Gastroesophageal Reflux Impact Score Questionnaire for Quality of Life

Even the patients complain GERD symptoms such as heartburn and acid regurgitation the final diagnosis could be reflux esophagitis (RE), non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and even functional heartburn (FH). In addition, the GERD symptoms are consisted of esophageal symptoms and extraesophageal symptoms. Thus it is necessary to use effective tool for the measurement of GERD symptoms and response of proton pump inhibitor in short time. Several questionnaires have been made for the assessment of GERD symptoms in recent years However, their screening tools do not include the impact of symptoms on everyday life and take a long time to complete the questionnaires. The GERD impact scale (GIS) questionnaire has been developed to compensate for this. It is a simple, one-page, questionnaire to communicate to the doctor the frequency of reflux symptoms and their effect on quality of life, recognizing that it might also prompt clinicians to make appropriate treatment for patients' symptoms. However, there was no report regarding comparison of the characteristics and response to PPI in RE, NERD and FH groups using GIS questionnaire so far.