Clinical Signs of Gastroesophageal Reflux

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is a term used to refer to symptoms and events that result from abnormal regurgitation of gastric contents into the esophagus. GER can episodically occur in normal persons without provoking any complaint, thus representing a disorder that can commonly affect large segments of the general population. Untreated pathological GER impairs quality of life and can frequently lead to esophagitis or occasionally to Barrett’s esophagus (with its tendency to become malignant). However, the spectrum of problems associated with GER has expanded to extra-esophageal sites [1,2].