Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Respirol. Mar 28, 2015; 5(1): 58-64
Published online Mar 28, 2015. doi: 10.5320/wjr.v5.i1.58
Gastroesophageal reflux disease related asthma: From preliminary studies to clinical practice
Zhi-Wei Hu, Ji-Min Wu, Wei-Tao Liang, Zhong-Gao Wang
Zhi-Wei Hu, Ji-Min Wu, Wei-Tao Liang, Zhong-Gao Wang, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Department, the Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, China
Zhong-Gao Wang, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
Author contributions: Wang ZG, Hu ZW, Wu JM and Liang WT analyzed the data; Hu ZW and Wang ZG wrote the paper.
Supported by Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, No. Z141107002514109.
Conflict-of-interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.
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: Zhong-Gao Wang, MD, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Department, the Second Artillery General Hospital, No. 16 Xinwai Street, Xicheng district, Beijing 100088, China. zhonggaowang@126.com
Telephone: +86-10-62015718 Fax: +86-10-62015718
Received: December 27, 2014
First decision: January 8, 2015
Revised: January 16, 2015
Accepted: February 9, 2015
Article in press: February 10, 2015
Published online: March 28, 2015
Processing time: 85 Days and 21.4 Hours
Abstract

The diagnosis of asthma requires the presence of episodic respiratory difficulties characterized by variable and reversible airway obstruction. It has a high prevalence worldwide and is traditionally considered to be an allergic disease. Most cases are responsive to treatment with bronchodilators and anti-inflammatories, as recommended by national and international guidelines; however, approximately 10% of asthmatic patients are refractory even to optimal therapy. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disorder in asthmatic patients and the two disorders may be linked pathophysiologically. Here we review data from preliminary studies that suggest asthma could be induced or exacerbated by gastroesophageal reflux. The optimal strategies for the diagnosis of GERD-related asthma and its therapy are still debated. However, there is evidence to suggest that antireflux treatment is effective and practical for asthmatic patients with well-defined reflux disease.

Keywords: Asthma; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Proton pump inhibitors; Laparoscopic fundoplication

Core tip: Allergic responses have been extensively studied but may be overemphasized for asthma; some asthma is frequently found to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) rather than “allergy”. That a subgroup of asthma could be induced or exacerbated by gastroesophageal reflux has become consensus. GERD should be assessed in asthmatic patients who also have typical symptoms of GERD, as well as in patients with nonatopic or severe/refractory asthma. The optimal strategies for the diagnosis of GERD-related asthma and its therapy are still being debated. However, there is evidence to suggest that antireflux treatment is effective and practical for asthmatic patients with well-defined reflux disease.