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Relationship of hiatal hernia to endoscopically proved reflux esophagitis

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Abstract

The relationship between reflux esophagitis and hiatal hernia was studied using fiberoptic endoscopy. Of 293 patients having upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy during an 18-month period, 64 (22%) had a hiatal hernia and 38 (13%) had esophagitis. Half the patients with a hiatal hernia had esophagitis, whereas the vast majority (84%) of patients with esophagitis had a concomitant hiatal hernia. The association between esophagitis and hiatal hernia was highly significant (P<0.0001). There was no statistically significant association between the size of the hiatal hernia and the degree of esophagitis on endoscopy. A permissive role of hiatal hernia in the genesis of reflux esophagitis is suggested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gastroenterology Section, Veterans Administration Hospital, San Francisco, California

    Richard A. Wright MD & Alfred L. Hurwitz MD

  2. Department of Medicine, the University of California, San Francisco, California

    Richard A. Wright MD & Alfred L. Hurwitz MD

Authors
  1. Richard A. Wright MD
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  2. Alfred L. Hurwitz MD
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Wright, R.A., Hurwitz, A.L. Relationship of hiatal hernia to endoscopically proved reflux esophagitis. Digest Dis Sci 24, 311–313 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01296546

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