PPI effectively attenuates acid-related dyspepsia

Monotherapy with a proton pump inhibitor appears to be effective in the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD) symptoms associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to a study.

The study included 233 patients (mean age, 56.5 years; 58 percent male; mean body mass index, 23.7 kg/m²) with FD and GERD, among whom 40 had mild, 151 had moderate and 42 had severe GERD symptoms. All patients were given PPI treatment for 4 weeks after endoscopy, and the severity of the symptoms and responses to treatment were evaluated prior to and after 4 weeks of treatment using the Gastroesophageal Reflux and Dyspepsia Therapeutic Efficacy and Satisfaction Test (GERD-TEST).

In the entire population, the pretreatment scores for the symptoms recorded were as follows: 3.7 for GERD-symptom subscale (SS), 3.3 for FD-SS, 3.6 for FD-epigastric pain syndrome symptom, and 3.0 for FD-postprandial distress-SS.

Analysis of the pretreatment scores for each symptom showed that a higher GERD-SS score was significantly associated with higher scores on any kind of FD score.

Furthermore, 4 weeks of PPI treatment led to a significant reduction in any of GERD/FD symptoms. Changes in the score for each symptom were markedly greater in the group of patients with more severe GERD-SS.

In light of the present data, PPI monotherapy may be considered the treatment of choice in patients with FD and more severe GERD symptom, researchers said.