2024 Volume 60 Issue 6 Pages 909-915
Purpose: The relationship between gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and apnea remains unclear. We investigated the association by multichannel intraluminal impedance–pH (MII–pH) analysis.
Methods: MII-pH analyses were performed between August 2017 and November 2021. Patients who were diagnosed as having abnormal GER and those whose GER was associated with apnea/oxygen desaturation were classified into the apnea group (11 patients). Patients with body weights in the same range as that in the apnea group but were not classified into that group were selected as the control group (18 patients).
Results: The median body weight at examination in the apnea group was 3,420 g (interquartile range 2,787–5,727 g). There were no significant differences in background characteristics between the two groups. The shape of the stomach evaluated by upper gastrointestinal contrast imaging was also comparable between both groups. The reflux indices were 6.1% in the apnea group and 14.4% in the control group. The number of fluid and mixed reflux episodes was significantly higher in the apnea group (115 times) than in the control group (95 times). Acid reflux occurred approximately 30 times in both groups, whereas non-acid reflux occurred 94 times in the apnea group and 66 times in the control group, which tended to be more frequent in the apnea group. The bolus exposure time was significantly higher in the apnea group. Nausea and vomiting occurred a similar number of times in both groups and were not associated with apnea.
Conclusion: The relationship between apnea and reflux was due to non-acid reflux. There was no association of apnea with immaturity, the shape of the stomach, nausea, or vomiting.
