The nation's first guidelines to diagnose and treat gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux, have been issued by the Chinese Medical Association's digestive disease branch. 

Though GERD is a common disease, with an incidence of three to five percent in the city, most people don't understand the disease and many doctors haven't received professional training on its diagnosis and proper medication.

Experts said GERD is a chronic condition in which the liquid content of the stomach, mainly acid, refluxes into the esophagus. Symptoms are heartburn, regurgitation and difficulty in swallowing. About 20 to 40 percent of Western people have had heartburn. Though people in Asia have a lower incidence, the number of patients is growing.

"If there is no proper treatment, GERD can hurt the esophagus and result in other complications like chest pain, respiratory diseases like asthma and coughing, and ear, nose and throat syndromes including throat cancer," said Dr Xu Guoming, director of Changhai Hospital's digestive disease department and director of the Chinese Medical Association's digestive disease branch. 

"Researchers found that most patients buy medicines by themselves instead of visiting hospitals with GERD symptoms." 

Since GERD is not included in present medical college education and there is no special training on the disease during practice, many doctors conducted irregular diagnosis and treatment, experts said.

(Shanghai Daily December 8, 2007)