Can Impedance-pH Testing on Medications Reliably Identify Patients with GERD as Defined by Pathologic Esophageal Acid Exposure off Medications?

MII-pH testing on medications in patients with refractory GERD symptoms does not reliably correlate with a diagnosis of GERD as defined by pathologic esophageal acid exposure off medications. The commonly used abnormal MII-pH test value of ≥ 48 total reflux episodes is not validated and should not be used. However, in our series, patients with > 73 total reflux episodes had a high likelihood of having pathologic acid exposure off medications. Overall, the preferred strategy to evaluate patients with persistent GERD symptoms on acid suppression therapy should be pH testing off medications.