American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guideline on the diagnosis and management of GERD: methodology and review of evidence

Abstract

This clinical practice guideline from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) provides an evidence-based approach for strategies to diagnose and manage GERD. This document was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework and serves as an update to the prior ASGE guideline on the role of endoscopy in the management of GERD (2014). The updated guideline addresses the indications for endoscopy in patients with GERD, including patients who have undergone sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). It also discusses endoscopic evaluation of gastroesophageal junctional integrity comprehensively and uniformly. Important, this guideline discusses management strategies for GERD including lifestyle interventions, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and endoscopic antireflux therapy including transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF), radiofrequency energy, and TIF combined with hiatal hernia repair (cTIF). The ASGE recommends upper endoscopy for the evaluation of GERD in patients with alarm symptoms. The ASGE suggests upper endoscopy for symptomatic patients with a history of SG and POEM. The ASGE recommends careful endoscopic evaluation, reporting, and photo-documentation of objective GERD findings and gastroesophageal junction landmarks and integrity to improve patient care and outcomes. In patients with GERD symptoms, the ASGE recommends lifestyle modifications. In patients with symptomatic and confirmed GERD with predominant heartburn symptoms, the ASGE recommends medical management including PPIs at the lowest dose for the shortest duration while initiating discussion about long-term management options. In patients with confirmed GERD with small hiatal hernia (≤2 cm) and Hill grade I or II flap valve who meet specific criteria, the ASGE suggests evaluation for TIF as an alternative to long-term medical management. In patients with confirmed GERD with a large hiatal hernia (>2 cm) and Hill grade 3 or 4 flap valve, the ASGE suggests evaluation for combined endoscopic-surgical TIF (cTIF) in a multidisciplinary review. This document clearly outlines the methodology, analysis, and decision used to reach the final recommendations and represents the official ASGE recommendations on the above topics.