Research advances in functional heartburn based on Rome Ⅳ criteria

Heartburn is among the most common gastrointestinal symptoms presenting to both generalist physicians and gastroenterologists.In the era of high utilization of proton pump inhibitors,a substantial proportion of patients presenting to the gastroenterologist with chronic symptoms of heartburn do not have a reflux-mediated disease.Subjects without objective evidence of reflux as a cause of their symptoms have functional heartburn(FH).FH has no evidence of abnormal esophageal acid exposure on ambulatory reflux monitoring,major esophageal motor disorders on high resolution manometry,or esophageal mucosal pathology,such as eosinophilic esophagitis on endoscopy with esophageal biopsies.The pathophysiology of FH is unknown but it is often associated with visceral hypersensitivity,and psychiatric disease.Importantly,anti-reflux surgery or other invasive anti-reflux modalities should be avoided.Although there are limited supporting data,modulation of pain perception,traditional Chinese medicine and psychological intervention may be potential therapeutic options in this population.

Evaluating the efficacy of endoscopic sphincterotomy on biliary-type sphincter of Oddi dysfunction: A retrospective clinical trial

BACKGROUND Although endoscopic sphincterotomy(EST)has a positive therapeutic effect on biliary-type sphincter of Oddi dysfunction(SOD),some patients still have little relief after EST,which implies that other functional abdominal pain may also be present with biliary-type SOD and interfere with the diagnosis and treatment of it.AIM To retrospectively assess EST as a treatment for biliary-type SOD and analyze the importance of functional gastrointestinal disorder(FGID)in guiding endoscopic treatment of SOD.METHODS Clinical data of 79 patients with biliary-type SOD(type I and type II)treated with EST at Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from January 2014 to January 2019 were retrospectively collected to evaluate the clinical therapeutic effect of EST.The significance of relationship between FGID and biliary-type SOD was analyzed.RESULTS Seventy-nine patients with biliary-type SOD received EST,including 29 type 1 patients and 50 type 2 patients.The verbal rating scale-5(VRS-5)scores before EST were all 3 or 4 points,and the scores decreased after EST;the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).After EST,the serum indexes of alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin in biliary-type SOD were significantly lower than before(P<0.05).After EST,67(84.8%)and 8(10.1%)of the 79 patients with biliary-type SOD had obviously effective(VRS-5=0 points)and effective treatment(VRS-5=1-2 points),with an overall effectiveness rate of 94.9%(75/79).There was no difference in VRS-5 scores between biliary-type SOD patients with or without FGID before EST(P>0.05).Of 12 biliary-type SOD(with FGID)patients,11 had abdominal pain after EST;of 67 biliary-type SOD(without FGID)patients,0 had abdominal pain after EST.The difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The 11 biliary-type SOD(with FGID)patients with recurrence of symptoms,the recurrence time was about half a year after the EST,and the symptoms were significantly relieved after regular medical treatment.There were 4 cases of postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis(5.1%),and no cholangitis,bleeding or perforation occurred.Patients were followed up for 1 year to 5 years after EST,with an average follow-up time of 2.34 years,and there were no long-term adverse events such as sphincter of Oddi restenosis or cholangitis caused by intestinal bile reflux during the follow-up.CONCLUSION EST is a safe and effective treatment for SOD.For patients with type I and II SOD combined with FGID,single EST or medical treatment has limited efficacy.It is recommended that EST and medicine be combined to improve the cure rate of such patients.