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Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) often are referred for upper endoscopy to exclude erosive esophagitis and esophageal metaplasia (Barrett esophagus), both of which are known precursors of esophageal carcinoma. Most often, endoscopy reveals normal mucosa (nonerosive GERD), but risk for progression from this condition to premalignant or malignant lesions, and hence the need for repeat endoscopy, has been unclear.
Using comprehensive health databases from Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, researchers identified 485,000 patients who received diagnoses of GERD between 1987 and 2019 and underwent at least one upper endoscopy during this period. Of these patients, 59% had normal findings on their first endoscopy; the remainder had e…