Objectives:

To determine whether the frequency of endoscopic phenotypes in gastroesophageal reflux disease is modified in those patients who did not consume proton pump inhibitors (PPI) before upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Methods:

A retrospective and comparative study of endoscopic findings (according to Los Angeles Classification) was performed in patients older than 18 years, with predominantly typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux.

Results:

114 patients were evaluated, 56 (49.1%) received PPI before endoscopy and 58 (50.9%) discontinued PPI. There were no differences in age, gender, weight, smoking and alcoholism in both groups. Significant differences were observed in the frequency of esophagitis, it was more frequent in patients who discontinued PPI before the endoscopic procedure (23.2 vs. 41.35%, p < 0.001). In the sub analysis between the grades of esophagitis, the difference was more significant in those with grade B and D (grade A esophagitis: 10.71 vs. 15.51%, p = 0.131; grade B esophagitis: 5.35 vs. 13.79%, p = 0.002; grade C esophagitis: 5.35 vs. 5.17%, p = 0.930; grade D esophagitis: 1.78 vs. 6.89%, p = 0.007). Mild esophagitis (grades A and B) was more frequent in the group without PPI (16.07 vs. 29.31, p = 0.001); this difference was less significant in the group with severe esophagitis (grades C and D) (7.14 vs. 12.06%, p = 0.075).

Conclusions:

The use of PPI before upper gastrointestinal endoscopy seems to modify the endoscopic phenotype in patients with typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease.