TY - JOUR T1 - THe pattern of esophageal acid exposure in gastroesophageal reflux disease influences the severity of the disease AU - Campos GR, Peters JH, DeMeester TR, Öberg S, Crookes PF, Mason RJ Y1 - 1999/08/01 N1 - 10.1001/archsurg.134.8.882 JO - Archives of Surgery SP - 882 EP - 888 VL - 134 IS - 8 N2 - Hypothesis  There is an independent association between the different patterns of esophageal acid exposure in gastroesophageal reflux disease and the severity of the disease.Design  Case-comparison study.Setting  Department of surgery at a university hospital.Patients  A group of 401 patients with increased esophageal acid exposure divided into 4 groups according to the pattern of reflux: postprandial (n=41), upright (n=74), supine (n=129), and bipositional (n=157).Main Outcome Measures  The prevalence of mucosal injury and the status of the lower esophageal sphincter and esophageal motility were assessed in each group.Results  The likelihood of having indicators of the severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease increases progressively from postprandial to upright, supine, and bipositional reflux.Conclusions  The pattern of esophageal acid exposure in gastroesophageal reflux disease is an objective predictor of the severity of disease and could be used for therapeutic decisions. SN - 0004-0010 M3 - doi: 10.1001/archsurg.134.8.882 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.134.8.882 ER -