| Abstrakt: |
Eighty-eight women from the third to the ninth month of pregnancy were studied. Seventy-three of them complained of heartburn and 15, taken as controls, never had such symptoms. Each patient was submitted to from one to four tests: The acid perfusion test was positive in 98 per cent of the patients with heartburn and negative in those without heartburn; the acid reflux test was positive in 85.4 per cent of the patients with heartburn and in 13.3 per cent of those without such symptoms. The presence of acid, as revealed by esophageal aspiration, is higher (91 per cent) in those with heartburn than in those without it (13.3 per cent). In conclusion, it can be stated that heartburn in pregnancy is due to esophagitis, resulting from the effect of regurgitation of gastric acid on the mucosa of the distal esophagus. |
