Diagnosis of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Among Globus Patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is suggested as one of the most common etiologic factors of globus; currently, however, only a few tools are available to carry out effective diagnosis of LPR in clinics. The goal of this study was to assess the validity of reflux finding score (RFS), reflux symptom index (RSI), and symptom checklist-90-revision (SCL-90-R) as diagnostic methods for LPR. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We selected 57 globus patients who were divided into test and control groups according to the results of 24-hour double-probe ambulatory pH monitoring. RFS, RSI, and SCL-90-R were then compared between the 2 groups, and the logical products of the 3 tests were also compared. RESULTS: RFS and RSI showed low specificity and there was no significant difference between the test and control groups. However, SCL-90-R revealed significantly high scores in the control group. The logical product of combining positive RFS and negative SCL-90-R was significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSION: RFS and RSI are less valid as diagnostic tools for LPR when used independently. Patients with LPR are found to exhibit weaker psychological symptoms than non-LPR patients. EBM rating: B-2b