Endoscopic treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is a common chronic disorder which has a severe effect on the patient's quality of life. In view of the high cost of medical therapy and the limitations of surgery, a variety of endoscopic techniques have been developed for the treatment of this condition, and these have shown apparently encouraging results, at least in the short- term. However, several inconsistencies have emerged between the efficacy of endoscopic treatment in improving symptoms and quality of life and a lack of improvement of objective parameters. Controlled studies are urgently needed in order to clarify the potential of endoscopic therapy. Currently, the use of endoscopic treatment should be limited to clinical trials.