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UTILITY OF REFLUX FINDING SCORE AND REFLUX SYMPTOM INDEX IN DIAGNOSIS OF LARYNGOPHARYNGEAL REFLUX DISEASE
  • Zephania Abraham,
  • Aveline Kahinga
Zephania Abraham
University of Dodoma College of Health and Allied Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Aveline Kahinga
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
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Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to determine the utility of reflux finding score (RFS) and reflux symptom index (RSI) in diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Design: Hospital based descriptive cross sectional study. Participants: Patients with throat and voice complaints for more than a month provided they have no other underlying cause such as tumors of the aerodigestive system or chronic irritants of the larynx such as cigarette smoking or those with misuse of voice such as choir singers, teachers. Main outcome measures: Statistical analyses described the utility of RFS and RSI in diagnosis of LPRD as designed by Belafsky et al where the diagnosis of reflux was made when the patient had an aggregate RSI score >13. Results: In this study, a total of 2500 patients were recruited, out of which 800 (32.0%) were males and 1700 (68.0%) were female. Out of the 2500, 1520 (60.8%) patients were found to have a RSI of >13. Out of the 1520 patients subjected to 70-degree laryngoscopy, 1425 patients (95.0%) were found to have a RFS >7. Of the 1425 patients with RFS >7, 260 were males (18.2%) and 1165 were females (81.8%). Conclusion: RFS and RSI have shown utility in diagnosing LPRD and they remain to be applicable even in resource-limited settings. There should be universal treatment protocol for LPRD since it vary among countries and health systems