Objective:

To determine the use of endoscopy in a Mexican adult population sample due to gastroesophageal reflux symptoms.

Methods:

A prospective, observational, transversal and descriptive study where a survey was applied to 1502 people of both sexes and over 18 years in the period July 2018-May 2019 in Mexico. It was extended through social networks and distributed outside schools, clinics and healthcare centers.

Results:

1502 surveys were applied. From the whole sample 61% were female. 230 individuals (37.70%) had an endoscopy due to reflux symptoms in the last five years compared to more than 60% reported in the international literature. Of the patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, 136 had an endoscopy on one occasion and 94 twice or more. The endoscopy was the most used diagnostic method among all, due to reflux symptoms representing 52.4% of the total. In the 230 patients who underwent to an endoscopy, a total of 365 procedures (1.58 endoscopies per patient) were realized during the last five years, a considerably larger number than reported in the international literature (1.04 endoscopies per patient, p = 0.05).

Conclusions:

The use of endoscopy as an initial diagnostic method in patients with reflux symptoms in Mexico seems to be lower than that reported in the international literature, although the total number of procedures per patient is significantly higher.

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