Clinical characteristics of patients with reflux esophagitis exhibiting gallbladder heat attacking the stomach or stagnant heat of the liver and stomach syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of gallbladder heat attacking the stomach and stagnant heat of the liver and stomach in patients with reflux esophagitis (RE), in terms of clinical symptoms, combination of gallbladder conditions, esophageal mucosal inflammation, gastric bile reflux under endoscopy and helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. METHODS: Patients with RE were enrolled from Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from June 2007 to December 2009 and patients exhibiting the syndrome of gallbladder heat attacking the stomach or stagnant heat of the liver and stomach were collected. The patients were requested to complete clinical questionnaires. The general data, characteristics of clinical symptoms, combination of gallbladder conditions, esophageal mucosal inflammation, gastric bile reflux under endoscopy and HP infection of the two patterns were compared. RESULTS: The average age of the selected patients with gallbladder heat attacking the stomach was older than that of the patients with stagnant heat of the liver and stomach (P<0.01) and the accompanying clinical signs and symptoms were more severe (P<0.01). The incidence of gallbladder diseases in patients with gallbladder heat attacking the stomach was higher than that of the patients with stagnant heat of the liver and stomach (P<0.01). The extent of the esophageal mucosal inflammation under endoscopy as well as the gastric bile reflux and the incidence of HP infection was also more severe (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in several regards between the syndromes of gallbladder heat attacking the stomach and stagnant heat of the liver and stomach in patients with RE. These characteristics may provide sound evidence for differentiation of signs and symptoms for this disease.