Duodenogastric Reflux in Patients with Heartburn and Oesophagitis

Forty patients with signs and symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux were studied with cholescintigraphy, a noninvasive method, to detect duodenogastric reflux. 150 patients subjected to cholescintigraphy for various medical reasons served as controls. Ten per cent of the patients wit signs and symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux and 14% of the control patients had duodenogastric reflux. Of the four patients with gastro-oesophageal and duodenogastric reflux three had ulcers or strictures on oesophagoscopy, whereas one had normal endoscopic appearance. The differences in the frequency of duodenogastric reflux between these groups are not statistically significant.