The Relationships Among Reflux Esophagitis, Hiatal Hernia And Gastroesophageal Flap Valve Grades In Subjects Undergoing Routine Endoscopy

Objective To investagite relationships among reflux esophagatitis(RE), hiatal hernia(HH) and gastroesophageal flap valve grades(GEFV) in subjects undergoing routine endoscopy.Methods We enrolled 560 subjects with symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disease, excluding patients with pyloric obstruction,or malignant tumors. GEFV grade was assessed using the Hill classification.Results The frequency of abnormal valves(Hill grades III or IV) was 30% in all subjects, the prevalence of RE was 33.3% in subjects with abnormal valves, and 11.7% in subjects with normal valves(Hill grades I or II),the prevalence of HH was 14.8%, and increased with alterated GEFV, 42.3% of the subjects with abnormal valves had HH, 85.5% of the patients with HH had abnormal valves. Patients with abnormal valves were younger,overweight and more likely to be male.Conclusion It has been suggested that endoscopic grading of the gastroesophageal flap valve is a good predictor of the reflux status, and abnormal gastroesophageal flap valvle is highly associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease and hiatal hernia in subjects undergoing routine endoscopy.