Dual-probe pH monitoring for the assessment of gastroesophageal reflux in the course of chronic hoarseness in children

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to assess gastroesophageal reflux (GER) by dual-probe pH monitoring in children suffering from chronic hoarseness for more than six months. Seventeen children (aged between 2 and 12 years, 10 boys and 7 girls) were enrolled. All children underwent a laryngoscopy and a 24-hour dual-probe pH monitoring. At both sensor, distal and proximal esophageal, a pathological GER was defined as the presence of episodes of acid reflux with pH < 4 during a fraction of the total recording time greater than 5.2 percent. The computer considered the child was supine when asleep and upright when awake. Laryngoscopy revealed interarytenoid erythema and/or edema with vocal cord nodules or granulomas in 13 cases (76.4%), isolated vocal nodules or granulomas in three cases (17.6%) and a normal appearance in one case (5.8%). At both sensors, the majority of refluxes occurred when the child was upright, as analyzed by the percentage of time the intra-esophageal pH was below four (% time pH < 4), number of refluxes, reflux episodes/hour and longest reflux episode, p < 0.05 between upright and supine for each parameter. The median total % time pH < 4 on the proximal and distal probes was respectively 1.62 percent (95% CI 1.50-3.79) and 11.49 percent (95% CI 8.81-27.17), p < 0.0003. Among the 17 hoarse children, a pathological GER was observed in 12 (70.5%) at the distal sensor and in three (17.5%) at both sensors. Among the 16 hoarse children with abnormal findings on laryngoscopy, two (12.5%) had diagnosed pathological GER at the proximal and 11 (68.7%) at the distal sensor. The only child with normal findings on laryngoscopy exhibited a pathological GER at both sensors. Our results suggest that chronic hoarseness is associated with a pathological GER. The majority of these documented refluxes occurred when the child was awake.