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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Simultaneous Laryngopharyngeal and Conventional Esophageal pH Monitoring
Published on: December 14, 2020
Gastric juice acidity in upper gastrointestinal diseases
Pei-Jung Lu1, Ping-I Hsu, Chung-Hsuan Chen
1Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, China.
Bile reflux, corpus atrophy, and neutrophil infiltration are key factors influencing gastric acidity. Gastric cancer patients frequently exhibit hypoacidity, unlike those with esophageal or duodenal ulcers.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Internal Medicine
- Pathophysiology
Background:
- Gastric juice acidity plays a crucial role in upper gastrointestinal health and disease.
- Understanding factors affecting gastric acidity is vital for diagnosing and managing various gastrointestinal conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify independent factors that determine gastric juice acidity.
- To investigate gastric juice acidity in patients with benign and malignant upper gastrointestinal diseases.
Main Methods:
- Fasting gastric juice acidity was measured in 165 healthy subjects and 346 patients with esophageal ulcer, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, or gastric cancer.
- Gastric specimens underwent rapid urease testing and histological examination.
Main Results:
- Bile stain, high acute inflammatory score of the corpus, and corpus atrophy were identified as independent risk factors for gastric hypoacidity.
- Esophageal ulcer and duodenal ulcer patients showed lower gastric pH (1.9-2.1) compared to healthy subjects (2.9).
- Gastric ulcer and gastric cancer patients exhibited higher gastric pH (3.4-6.6) than controls, with 88% of gastric cancer patients having hypoacidity.
Conclusions:
- Bile reflux, corpus atrophy, and dense neutrophil infiltrate in the corpus are independent determinants of gastric juice acidity.
- These findings highlight significant alterations in gastric acidity associated with specific upper gastrointestinal diseases.
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