All That’s Red Isn’t Reflux: Getting Smarter about Laryngopharyngeal Reflux

Abstract

Program Description:

This miniseminar will provide a critical, evidence-based review of current practice regarding laryngopharyngeal reflux with focus on improving patient care. Current paradigms often yield uncertain diagnosis, while prolonged treatment and/or extensive testing are time-consuming and costly, have side effects, and yield equivocal benefit in many cases. Through focus on strengths and weaknesses of various diagnostic strategies and with knowledge of current practice patterns, this miniseminar hopes to identify best practices for evaluation of presumed laryngopharyngeal reflux. This miniseminar aims to recall otolaryngologists to a broader patient-based perspective and refocus attention on better evaluation for complaints possibly related to laryngopharyngeal reflux.

Educational Objectives:

(1) Discuss current otolaryngology practice patterns for patients with presumed reflux disease. (2) Compare the strengths and weaknesses of common approaches to reflux diagnosis such as history, examination, response to empiric proton-pump inhibitor trial, and objective reflux testing. (3) Identify current best practices in otolaryngology care of presumed laryngopharyngeal reflux.