Evidence Hub

Use of direct, endoscopic-guided measurements of mucosal impedance in diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease

Saritas Yuksel E, Higginbotham T, Slaughter JC, Mabary J, Kavitt RT, Garrett CG, Vaezi MF

Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, 2012

27 participants

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Diagnostic tests for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are constrained because measurements are made at a single time point, so the long-term effects on the mucosa cannot be determined. We developed a minimally invasive system to assess changes in esophageal mucosal impedance (MI), a marker of reflux. We measured the extent of changes in MI along the esophagus and show that the device to assess MI can be used to diagnose patients with GERD.

METHODS: A single-channel MI catheter composed of a unique sensor array was designed to easily traverse the working channel of an upper endoscope. We performed a prospective longitudinal study of patients with erosive esophagitis (n = 19), nonerosive but pH-positive GERD (n = 23), and those without GERD (n = 27). MI was measured at the site of esophagitis as well as 2, 5, and 10 cm above the squamocolumnar junction. The MI values were compared among groups, at different levels along the esophageal axis.

RESULTS: Median MI values were significantly lower at the site of erosive mucosa (811 Ω; range, 621-1272 Ω) than other nonerosive regions (3723 Ω; range, 2421-4671 Ω; P = .001), and were significantly lower at 2 cm above the squamocolumnar junction in patients with GERD (2096 Ω; range, 1415-2808 Ω), compared with those without GERD (3607 Ω; range, 1973-4238 Ω; P = .008). There was a significant and graded increase in MI along the axis of the distal to proximal esophagus in patients with GERD that was not observed in…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a clinical trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 27 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free