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©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2015; 21(5): 1680-1683
Published online Feb 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i5.1680
Published online Feb 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i5.1680
Belching, regurgitation, chest tightness and dyspnea: Not gastroesophageal reflux disease but asthma
Jing-Xi Zhang, Chong Bai, Qiang Li, Department of Respiratory diseases, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
Xian-Bao Zhan, Department of Gastroenterology, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
Author contributions: Zhang JX, Zhan XB collected the patient’s clinical data and designed the report; Zhang JX wrote the paper; Bai C and Li Q analyzed the data and revised the paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Qiang Li, MD, PhD, Department of Respiratory Diseases, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, No. 800 Xiangyin Road, Shanghai 200433, China. liqressh@hotmail.com
Telephone: +86-21-31161311 Fax: +86-21-31161311
Received: August 13, 2014
Peer-review started: August 14, 2014
First decision: August 29, 2014
Revised: September 9, 2014
Accepted: October 15, 2014
Article in press: October 15, 2014
Published online: February 7, 2015
Processing time: 179 Days and 18.8 Hours
Peer-review started: August 14, 2014
First decision: August 29, 2014
Revised: September 9, 2014
Accepted: October 15, 2014
Article in press: October 15, 2014
Published online: February 7, 2015
Processing time: 179 Days and 18.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Belching is a common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease. If the symptoms are not relieved after anti-reflux treatment, bronchial asthma needs to be considered when the patient is accompanied by respiratory symptoms. Combination of multiple tests including pulmonary function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and allergen skin prick test, except for specific gastroenterological examinations, is helpful to make a correct diagnosis. Corticosteroids are the most effective medication for asthma-induced belching. This case suggests that physicians, especially the gastrointestinal physicians, should pay attention to the belching symptoms of asthma.