Utility of Trans-Abdominal Ultrasonography for Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD) Induced by Esophagitis

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is one of the most common diseases in adults. Ultrasonography (US) is a noninvasive and reliable diagnostic tool for the disease at least in infants but the diagnostic value in adults has not been evaluated well. A total of 72 patients complaining form gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms who have undergone upper endoscopy were recruited for this study. In abdominal sonography, the following variables were measured or observed: esophageal wall thickness at gastroesophageal junction, AP diameter of esophagus at hiatus and gastroesophageal junction, abdominal esophagus length, funnel shape esophagus and presence of reflux after drinking a glass of water. Among all variables, only the presence of reflux in sonography was significantly related to the positive endoscopic findings with a sensitivity of 45% and specificity of 86%. Sonography can predict induced esophagitis by gastroesophageal reflux disease induced.