Nearly 40 percent of GERD patients taking PPIs experience recurrin...(directed more than 40 percent have not s...),Health

• Nearly two-thirds (57 percent) of respondents report that their physician has not asked about their habitual use of OTC medications, such as Alka-Seltzer, Mylanta, Pepcid Complete and Pepto-Bismol, in addition to their PPI.

Breakthrough symptoms can be bothersome and frustrating to GERD sufferers, but they arent talking about it with their physician as often as they should, said Dr. Inadomi. By discussing the frequency, severity and timing of breakthrough symptoms, physicians and patients can determine if changes need to be made to their GERD treatment.

GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is caused by frequent or regular back up of stomach juices from the stomach into the esophagus. It is estimated that GERD affects between 25-35 percent of the U.S. population. Common symptoms of GERD include: heartburn, dyspepsia, regurgitation, chest sensations or pain, acid laryngitis and dysphagia. Proton pump inhibitors decrease acid production by turning off many of the acid pumps in the stomach.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive and funded through a grant by TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. The survey consisted of a 10-minute online, self-administered survey. Participants were 40 percent male, 60 percent female. Forty percent of the respondents were under age 49 and 60 percent were 50 and over. All patients suffered from GERD and had been taking a PPI to control their symptoms for at least three months.

The main sample is associated with a margin of sampling error plus or minus 3 percentage points; for results based on subgroups the sampling error is higher. Where comparisons were made, significance testing was done at 95 percent confidence. Testing differences between groups at the 95 percent confidence level indicates t
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