Acid Reflux Disorder is a chronic condition that manifested by the regurgitation of digestive acids from the stomach, back to the esophagus thus causing inflammation or damage to the esophageal lining.
Being a complex disease, many evaluations and tests may be conducted for the doctor to be able to confirm the diagnosis.
Therapeutic Trial Characteristic symptoms of acid reflux disorder or gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD) are the common indicators that a patient is suffering from it.
Heartburn, the burning sensation felt beneath the middle of the chest, is the most popular among the symptoms which is commonly experienced after meals and is aggravated when lying down.
With this complaint, the physician will treat patients with specific medications.
When the heartburn is relieved dramatically, the diagnosis will then be verified, making the therapeutic trial a success.
However, issues concerning this practice arise.
Just like any curing methods, this might not serve to be a fool-proof treatment.
Patients suffering from ailments other than acid reflux disorder may also respond to the given medication and therefore the real root of the symptom may not be further examined.
Esophageal acid testing Esophageal pH monitoring is a process wherein the length of time of the regurgitation of acid is measured.
The procedure is helpful in both diagnosing acid reflux disorder and determining the efficiency of the treatment medications being induced by the patient.
It can also aid in evaluating whether or not acid reflux disorder is actually the cause of the symptoms experienced, like heartburn.
The process works by having an acid sensor placed near the lower esophageal sphincter which serves as the monitoring passage of whatever is swallowed traveling from the esophagus to the stomach.
This sensor is introduced to the system through a catheter that is connected to a recorder that monitors and registers the refluxes.
Larynx and throat Examination Common symptoms affecting the larynx and throat including sore throat, cough and hoarseness are mostly reported to ENT specialist (ear, nose and throat).
Damage found within the given areas may be the cause of acid reflux disorder wherein the regurgitation of acid already occurs in large quantities, thus reaching the larynx and throat.
With these findings, therapeutic trial will then follow.
Biopsies When the acid reflux disorder has already spread into other severe complications, biopsies are most helpful in the diagnosis and evaluation stages.
The procedure depicts cellular changes that may indicate serious conditions such as Barrett's esophagus or cancer.