Gastroesophageal reflux disease differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ahmed Elsaiey, MBBCH [2]

Overview

GERD must be differentiated from other diseases like gastritis, peptic ulcer, crohn's disease, gastric adenocarcinoma, and gastrinoma.

Differentiating Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease from other Diseases

• GERD must be differentiated from other diseases such as gastritis, peptic ulcer, crohn's disease, gastric adenocarcinoma, and gastrinoma.

Differential Diagnosis

Disease

Cause

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Other findings

Pain

Nausea & Vomiting

Heartburn

Belching or Bloating

Weight loss

Loss of Appetite

Stools

Endoscopy findings

Location

Aggravating Factors

Alleviating Factors

GERD

Lower esophageal sphincter abnormalities Hiatal hernia Abnormal esophageal contractions Prolonged emptying of stomach Gastrinomas

Epigastric pain

Spicy food Tight fitting clothing

Antacids Head elevation during sleep

✔ (Suspect delayed gastric emptying)

✔

-

-

-

-

Esophagitis Barrette's esophagus Strictures

Other symptoms: Dysphagia Regurgitation Nocturnal cough Hoarseness Complications Esophagitis Strictures Barrette esophagus

Acute gastritis

H. pylori NSAIDS Corticosteroids Alcohol Spicy food Viral infections Crohn's disease Autoimmune diseases Bile reflux Cocaine use Breathing machine or ventilator Ingestion of corrosives

Epigastric pain

Food

Antacids

✔

✔

✔

-

✔

Black stools

Pangastritis or antral gastritis Erosive (Superficial, deep, hemorrhagic) Nonerosive (H. pylori)

-

Chronic gastritis

H. pylori Alcohol Medications Autoimmune diseases Chronic stress

Epigastric pain

Food

Antacids

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

-

H. pylori gastritis Atrophy Intestinal metaplasia Lymphocytic gastritis Enlarged folds Aphthoid erosions

-

Atrophic gastritis

H. pylori Autoimmune disease

Epigastric pain

-

-

✔

-

✔

✔

-

H. pylori Mucosal atrophy Autoimmune Mucosal atrophy

Iron deficiency anemia Autoimmune gastritis diagnosis includes: Antiparietal and anti-IF antibodies Achlorhydria and hypergastrinemia Low serum cobalamine

Crohn's disease

Autoimmune disease

Abdominal pain

-

-

-

-

-

✔

✔

Chronic diarrhea often bloody with pus or mucus Rectal bleeding

Mucosal nodularity with cobblestoning Multiple aphthous ulcers Linier or serpiginous ulcerations Thickened antral folds Antral narrowing Hypoperistalsis Duodenal strictures

Fever Fatigue Anemia (pernicious anemia)

Peptic ulcer disease

H. pylori Smoking Alcohol Radiation therapy Medications Zollinger-ellison syndrome

Epigastric pain sometimes extending to back Right upper quadrant pain

Duodenal ulcer Pain aggravates with empty stomach Gastric ulcer Pain aggravates with food

Antacids Duodenal ulcer Pain alleviates with food

✔

✔

-

-

-

Black stools

Gastric ulcers Discrete mucosal lesions with a punched-out smooth ulcer base with whitish fibrinoid base Most ulcers are at the junction of fundus and antrum 0.5-2.5cm Duodenal ulcers Well-demarcated break in the mucosa that may extend into the muscularis propria of the duodenum Found in the first part of duodenum <1cm

Other diagnostic tests Serum gastrin levels Secretin stimulation test Biopsy

Gastrinoma

Associated with MEN type 1

Abdominal pain

-

-

✔ (suspect gastric outlet obstruction)

✔

-

-

-

Black stools

Useful in collecting the tissue for biopsy

May present with symptoms of GERD or peptic ulcer disease Associated with MEN type 1 Diagnostic tests Serum gastrin levels Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy CT and MRI

Gastric Adenocarcinoma

H. pylori infection Smoked and salted food

Abdominal pain

-

-

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

Black stools, or blood in stools

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy Multiple biopsies are taken to establish the diagnosis

Other symptoms Dysphagia Early satiety Frequent burping

Primary gastric lymphoma

H. pylori infection

Abdominal pain Chest pain

-

-

-

-

-

✔

-

-

Useful in collecting the tissue for biopsy

Other symptoms Painless swollen lymph nodes in neck and armpit Night sweats Fatigue Fever Cough or trouble breathing

• GERD must be differentiated from other causes of dysphagia, odynophagia and food regurgitation such as esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophageal stricture.

	Manifestations	Diagnostic tools
Achalasia	Dyspnea Dysphagia for solids and liquids is the most common feature, being seen in 91 % and 85% of patients respectively Regurgitation of undigested food occurs in 76-91% of patients Cough mainly when lying down in 30%	Esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings include a dilated esophagus with residual food fragments, normal mucosa and occasionally candidiasis (due to the prolonged stasis). Barium swallow shows the characteristic bird's beak appearance. Barium swallow showing bird's beak appearance - By Farnoosh Farrokhi, Michael F. Vaezi. - Idiopathic (primary) achalasia. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 2007, 2:38(http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2040141), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2950922
GERD	Retrosternal burning chest pain. Cough and hoarseness of voice. May present with complications such as strictures and dysphagia.	Upper GI endoscopy shows the complications such as esophagitis and barret esophagus. Esophageal manometry may show decreased tone of the lower esophageal sphincter. 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring may be done to confirm the diagnosis. Barret's esophagus - By Samir धर्म - taken from patient with permission to place in public domain, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1595945
Esophageal carcinoma	Dysphagia Odynophagia- fluids and soft foods are usually tolerated, while hard or bulky substances (such as bread or meat) cause much more difficulty Weight loss Pain, often of a burning nature, may be severe and worsened by swallowing, and can be spasmodic in character Nausea and vomiting	Upper GI endoscopy and esophageal biopsy the gold standard for the diagnosis of esophageal CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2587715
Corckscrew esophagus	Retrosternal chest pain that presents with or without food intake. The condition is not progressive and not causing complications.	Barium swallow shows the characteristic corckscrew appearance of the esophagus. Corckscrew esophagus - Case courtesy of Radswiki, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 11680
Esophageal stricture	Patient may present with the symptoms of the underlying GERD. Dysphagia and odynophagia.	Barium esophagography provides information about the site and the diameter of the stricture before the endoscopic intervention. Peptic stricture - By Samir धर्म - From en.wikipedia.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1931423
Plummer-Vinson syndrome	Common symptoms of Plummer-Vinson syndrome include: Difficulty swallowing (more for solids) Weakness Pain Burning sensation in mouth Dry tongue Painful cracks in the angles of a dry mouth Pale color of the skin Less cmmon symptoms Cold intolerance Reduced resistance to infection Altered behavior Craving for for unusual items (such as ice or cold vegetables)	Lab tests are consistent with the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Findings on an x-ray (barium esophagogram) suggestive of esophageal web/strictures associated with Plummer-Vinson syndrome appear as either: Thin projections on the anterior esophageal wall. Multiple upper (cervical) esophageal constrictions consistent with esophageal webs. Plummer-Vinson syndrome (Source: Case courtesy of Dr Hani Salam, <a href="https://radiopaedia.org/">Radiopaedia.org</a>. From the case <a href="https://radiopaedia.org/cases/14029">rID: 14029</a>)