Improving the quality of life in pregnant women with gastroesophageal reflux disease as a marker of the effectiveness of the treatment

Abstract

Aim - to investigate the effectiveness of the drug "Hialera" by determining the quality of life indicator in pregnant women with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Materials and methods. The study included 30 pregnant women with GERD manifestations. Among them, 7 (23.3%) women had a confirmed diagnosis on fibrogastroscopy (FGDS) during this pregnancy, 6 (20.0%) women had a diagnosis of GERD confirmed before pregnancy during FGDS pregravidally. The remaining 17 (56.6%) pregnant women had heartburn and regurgitation, (and at night), during the period of 6-10 weeks during early toxicosis and after 30 weeks. Women answered of the GERD Health-Related Quality of Life (GERD-HRQL) questionnaire before and after treatment with Hyalera (1 stick 3-4 times a day as a plan or as needed when heartburn symptoms occurred). The survey results determined the impact of heartburn and regurgitation on a person's daily life and the effectiveness of treatment.

Results. Among the 30 pregnant women examined with clinical manifestations of GERD before the start of treatment, 25 (83.3%) patients noted heartburn/regurgitation daily; in 26 (86.6%) women the above symptoms affected daily activities. After 10 days of treatment, only 2 (6.6%) women had symptoms that persisted daily and 3 (10.0%) had symptoms that affected their daily activities. After treatment, 3 (10.0%) women reported feeling unwell compared to 26 (86.6%) pregnant women before treatment. After starting treatment, no women reported sleep disturbances related to heartburn.

Conclusions. A significant improvement in the quality of life was noted in pregnant women with heartburn after the start of treatment with the Hyalera remedy. It is important that the manifestations of heartburn and regurgitation decreased already during the first day after the start of treatment. It is also essential to restore a full night's sleep in pregnant women. The Hyalera remedy, due to its composition, helps eliminate heartburn and heaviness in the stomach, prevents the occurrence of repeated episodes of heartburn, reduces inflammation of the mucous membrane of the esophagus and stomach, normalizes the permeability of the mucous barrier of the esophagus and stomach

The study was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the Committee on bioethics and deontology of these institutions. The informed consent of the children's parents was obtained for the research.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.