GI Disorders.

Reflux Precedes Coughing

Half of all coughing and wheezing episodes in asthma patients are temporally associated with esophageal acid reflux, Dr. Amnon Sonnenberg said at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in New York.

In the great majority of these episodes, reflux precedes the coughing, rather than vice versa, added Dr. Sonnenberg of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

He reported on 128 randomly selected adult patients from Veterans Affairs asthma clinics who underwent 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring. The monitoring revealed that 46% of coughing episodes and 48% of wheezing episodes were temporally related to gastric acid reflux.

During the 24-hour study, 53 of the 128 asthma patients experienced five or more coughing episodes. In 49 of these patients, reflux preceded coughing. In 28 patients coughing led to reflux, while in 25 it never did.

Screening Should Start at Age 50

New data strongly support recommendations that colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 50, Dr. Thomas F. Imperiale said at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in New York.