Advances in internal treatment of gastroesophageal reflux-related cough

Abstract

Gastroesophageal reflux-related cough (GERC) is a clinical syndrome characterized by cough, caused by reflux of gastroduodenal contents into esophagus or oral cavity. The overall treatment effectiveness of GERC is poor because it is difficult to identify patients who are truly responsive to anti-reflux treatment due to the lack of gold standard diagnostic criteria for GERC. Acid-suppressive therapy is the first-line treatment for GERC, and other treatments include lifestyle modification, prokinetics, neuromodulators, upper esophageal sphincter reflux band and endoscopic anti-reflux surgery.