Impact of typical gastroesophageal reflux in patients with asthma

Introduction: The absence of Gabonese data justifies this work, which aimed to identify the consequences of typical gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in asthma control. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out in a population of asthmatics followed for more than 2 years at Omar Bongo Ondimba Military Training Hospital between January 1, 2008 and 31 December 2015. Demographic, Social, Epidemiological, Clinical, Paraclinical and Therapeutic data were collected and compared between the group of patients with GERD and those without GERD. Results: The hospital frequency of typical GERD in the asthmatic population was 24.9%. The female predominance and the middle age (50 years) were similar in the 2 groups. Allergic rhinitis was statistically more common in the group without typical GERD (p <0.001). The Typical GERD was statistically associated with a frequency of more than 30 asthma attacks per year (p <0.001), more than 20 annual consultations per year (p <0.001), very frequent use of bronchodilators of short duration of action (p <0.001), and the need for more than 3 hospitalizations per year (p <0.001). The severity of the seizures was not statistically linked to the presence of GERD (p = 0.126). Conclusion: The hospital frequency of typical GERD in asthma patients is 24.9%. The typical GERD is responsible for a high number of annual exacerbations, annual consultations, annual hospitalizations and very frequent use of short-acting bronchodilators.