| Theme |
GERD -- Recent Clinical Advances |
| Title |
Evaluation of GERD Specific Questionnaires: QUEST and FSSG(F Scale) |
| Author |
Masaki Miyamoto |
Depatrment of Gastroenterology, Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima Hospital |
| Author |
Ken Haruma |
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| [ Summary ] |
No signs of reflux esophagitis are evident from endoscopies in over half of the patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD). Careful history taking and questionnaires are therefore particularly useful in screening for GERD. Recently, GERD symptom questionnaires such as the QUEST and the FSSG (frequency scale for the symptoms of GERD) have come into use for GERD screening and assessing treatment responses. The QUEST questionnaireis used for GERD screening world wide. Patients scoring four points or more on the QUEST are regarded as having GERD. However, scoring is complicated for clinicians and some questionsare difficult for patients to understand. On the other hand, the FSSG (developed in Japan) is easy for both patients and doctors to understand. The FSSG is comprised of 12 questions that cover not only acid symptoms but also dyspeptic (dysmotility) symptoms. Patients scoring 8 points or more on the FSSG are considered to have GERD. The FSSG provides useful information to make an initialdiagnoses of GERD, quantitative assessment of the effects of treatment, and determination of optimal treatment (e.g. addition of a prokinetic to proton pump inhibitor therapy). We anticipate further use of the FSSG in the future. |