Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about gastro-osophageal reflux disease.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero-to-finals.com slash g-o-r-d or in the gastroenterology section of the zero to finals medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease abbreviated to gourd or GORD is where acid from the stomach

flows back through the lower esophageal sphincter at the bottom of the

esophagus and into the esophagus where it irritates the lining and causes symptoms.

The acid can also reflux up into the back of the throat.

The esophagus has a squamous epithelial lining that isn't protected

against the effects of stomach acid. The stomach has a columnar epithelial lining that's more

protected against stomach acid. Therefore the stomach copes well with, but the esophagus doesn't.

Let's talk about the causes and triggers.

Certain factors can exacerbate or worsen the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease,

including greasy and spicy foods, coffee and tea, alcohol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stress, smoking,

obesity and hiatus hernias. So how does it present? Dyspepsia is a non-specific term that's used to describe indigestion.

It covers the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, including heartburn, acid regurgitation,

retraternal or epigastric pain, bloating, a nocturnal cough, meaning when the patient's lying flat at night time,

they develop a cough, and hoarse voice due to acid refluxing to the vocal cords.

Let's go through the red flags.

Patients with symptoms that are suspicious of cancer will get a two-week-weight referral for further

investigation.

It's possible to refer from primary care for an urgent direct access endoscopy, putting a camera

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