Role of ARMA in Selective Subset of Refractory GERD Patients.

Patients coming with symptoms of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) - A digestive disease in which stomach acid or bile irritates the food pipe lining, will be screened for eligibility and informed written consent will be taken. At initial screening, score based on clinical symptoms i.e. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease- Quality of Life score (GERD HRQL) \& Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (FSSG) score will be completed. All patients will undergo esophagogastroscopy (procedure to diagnose and treat problems in your upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract). to look for reflux (the backward flow of stomach acid into the tube that connects your throat to your stomach (esophagus)) related changes in the esophagus.

Esophageal high-resolution Manometry (procedure to diagnose and treat problems in your upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract) will be done to measure the various parameters which help doctor understand your disease.

24-hr pH impedance (procedure to diagnose and treat problems in your upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract) will be done after stopping anti-secretory medicines (medicines for the long-term treatment of GERD) for atleast three days to assess for esophageal parameters.

All patients will be divided randomly into two arms, ARMA and sham. Those in the ARMA arm will receive ARMA procedure, while patients in the sham arm will receive only upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

• ARMA (Procedure): Patients will be instructed to fast for 6 hours pre-ARMA, the Procedure will be performed under propofol-based sedation. Patients will be in the left lateral decubitus position. The stomach will be insufflated with CO2 to visualize the cardia in retroflex view.
• UGI Endoscopy (Procedure): UGI Endoscopy will be performed under propofol based sedation with scope kept inside for atleast 5 minutes. Follow up will include objective evaluation of reflux disease with: upper endoscopy, esophageal manometry, pHmetry, reflux questionnaire.

Primary outcomes

• Improvement in Gastro esophageal reflux disease symptoms by more than 50% from baseline at 3 months. [One Year]: Improvement in Gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms by more than 50% from baseline at 3 months which would be assessed based on visual analog scale VAS 0 LOW SCORE 10 WORSE SYMPTOM SCORE.

Secondary outcomes

• Improvement in esophageal acid exposure [One Year]: Improvement in esophageal acid exposure in PH impedence monitoring report from baseline.

Sex: All, ages: 19 Years to any, accepts healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria:

* Normal Upper Gastrointestinal endoscopy And
* 24 hour pH Impedance: AET < 6%, More than 80 refluxes
* Patients who are willing to give consent for the procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

* Large Hiatal hernia >3cm
* Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure >15 mm Hg
* Paraesophageal hernia
* GE flap valve grade IV (Hill's classification)
* Barretts esophagus
* Esophageal dysmotility
* ASA physical status >II
* Previous esophageal or gastric surgery
* Pregnancy

• Results publication: Inoue H, Tanabe M, de Santiago ER, Abad MRA, Shimamura Y, Fujiyoshi Y, Ueno A, Sumi K, Tomida H, Iwaya Y, Ikeda H, Onimaru M. Anti-reflux mucosal ablation (ARMA) as a new treatment for gastroesophageal reflux refractory to proton pump inhibitors: a pilot study. Endosc Int Open. 2020 Feb;8(2):E133-E138. doi: 10.1055/a-1031-9436. Epub 2020 Jan 22. PMID 32010745
• Results publication: Chou CK, Chen CC, Chen CC, Wu JF, Liao WC, Chiu HM, Wang HP, Wu MS, Tseng PH. Positive and negative impact of anti-reflux mucosal intervention on gastroesophageal reflux disease. Surg Endosc. 2023 Feb;37(2):1060-1069. doi: 10.1007/s00464-022-09605-z. Epub 2022 Sep 15. PMID 36109362
• Results publication: Rodriguez de Santiago E, Albeniz E, Estremera-Arevalo F, Teruel Sanchez-Vegazo C, Lorenzo-Zuniga V. Endoscopic anti-reflux therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2021 Oct 21;27(39):6601-6614. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i39.6601. PMID 34754155

• Neeraj Singla, MD, Principal investigator, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad
• Digvijay Chavan, Study chair, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad