Does Your Patient Have Laryngopharyngeal Symptoms, or Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease?

Patients presenting with troublesome upper airway symptoms like cough, throat pain, and throat clearing often receive a diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal esophageal reflux despite having no objective evidence of gastric reflux (see Figure 1). This leads to overprescription of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) and a delay in proper diagnosis and treatment. In response to this clinical problem, a 28-member expert panel has now defined and distinguished “laryngopharyngeal symptoms” or “LPS” from “laryngopharyngeal reflux disease” or “LPRD” and makes recommendations for their management.

Key Points

LPS

• These symptoms a…