Heartburn during sleep: a clinical marker of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in morbidly obese patients

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and morbid obesity are entities with increasing prevalence. New clinical strategies are cornerstones for their management. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of heartburn during sleep (HDS) and whether this symptom predicts the presence of objective GORD parameters and increased heartburn perception in morbidly obese patients. Ninety-one consecutive morbidly obese patients underwent clinical evaluation, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and oesophageal pH monitoring. HDS was characterized when patients replied positively to the question, 'Does heartburn wake you from sleep?'. A General Score for Heartburn (GSH) ranging between 0 and 5 was assessed with the question 'How bad is your heartburn?'. HDS was reported by 33 patients (36%). More patients with HDS had abnormal acid contact time or reflux oesophagitis than patients without HDS (94%vs 57%, P < 0.001). HDS had a positive predictive value of 94% (0.95 CI 82-98), sensitivity of 48% (0.95 CI 37-60%) and specificity of 93% (0.95 CI 77-98%) for detection of GORD. A higher proportion of patients with HDS perceived heartburn preceded by acid reflux in diurnal (39%vs 9%; P < 0.001) periods during pH-metry. HDS patients showed higher GSH (2.4 +/- 0.5 vs 1.7 +/- 0.4; P < 0.0001) compared with patients who denied HDS but reported diurnal heartburn. HDS occurs in a significant minority of patients with morbid obesity and has high positive predictive value for GORD. Symptomatic reflux during the sleep seems to be a marker of increased heartburn perception in this population.