Veronica Dianitta Devapriya, Sudarsan Shyam Sudhakar, Kumar Prem, John Allen
Department of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India.
Department of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, SIMATS University, No. 1, Saveetha Nagar, Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 602105 India.
Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2025 Jul;77(7):2500-2507. doi: 10.1007/s12070-025-05535-z. Epub 2025 May 12.
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) refers to the retrograde flow of stomach contents into the larynx due to an abnormality involving the upper oesophageal sphincter. It presents with symptoms like frequent hawking, nocturnal cough, globus pharyngeus and unresolving throat discomfort. Studies have focused on LPR in the general population. However, certain cohorts may be more susceptible or silently suffering from LPR. A PubMed search on "laryngopharyngeal reflux in doctors" derived 118 results between 1998 and 2025 with no study on cohorts comprising doctors though general population and non-healthcare cohorts have been researched. Only Google Gemini's Generative Artificial Intelligence suggests that there is a possibility. To estimate the prevalence of LPR among doctors and derive a predictor model. A cross-sectional study was done among 822 doctors. Survey-based. Demographics, data related to work and RSI scoring were collected. Thorough ear, nose and throat examination with videolaryngoscopy was done. Descriptive statistics, prevalence rate, correlation and regression analysis were done. Variables satisfying assumptions for regression were filtered and a suitable model was developed to observe factors with most weightage causing LPR and estimate the medico's chances of suffering from it. Higher prevalence rate noted. Work related data provided a meaningful insight on finding factors with significant influence causing LPR in medicos. 1st predictor model with variables explaining the risk weightage derived. Age and gender did not have a statistically significant impact on the model. Impactful outcomes particularly noted in those who do shift work(8.292), take irregular diet(4.455), have habits(2.918), and work for extended hours(0.981) with values in parentheses showing how prone a candidate is, in developing LPR. LPR is more prevalent than expected in cohort comprising doctors when compared to general population, suggesting a possible silent disease among doctors. Revising work timing / improving diet hygiene / reducing stress by easing administrative delays apart from clinical suspicion, early recognition and management may help the healthcare professionals tide over the wave of LPR. The predictor model helps to categorise factors on weightage and predict how influential a role it can play in causing LPR.
喉咽反流（LPR）是指由于上食管括约肌异常导致胃内容物反流至喉部。其症状包括频繁清嗓、夜间咳嗽、咽部异物感和持续的咽喉不适。研究主要集中在普通人群中的喉咽反流。然而，某些人群可能更易患或正默默忍受着喉咽反流。对PubMed上“医生中的喉咽反流”进行搜索，在1998年至2025年间得到了118条结果，虽然对普通人群和非医疗群体进行了研究，但没有关于医生群体的研究。只有谷歌Gemini的生成式人工智能表明存在这种可能性。为了估计医生中喉咽反流的患病率并推导预测模型。对822名医生进行了一项横断面研究。基于调查。收集了人口统计学、与工作相关的数据和RSI评分。进行了全面的耳鼻喉检查并使用视频喉镜检查。进行了描述性统计、患病率、相关性和回归分析。对满足回归假设的变量进行筛选，并开发了一个合适的模型来观察导致喉咽反流的最重要因素，并估计医生患该病的几率。发现患病率较高。与工作相关的数据为找出对医生中导致喉咽反流有重大影响的因素提供了有意义的见解。得出了第一个带有解释风险权重变量的预测模型。年龄和性别对该模型没有统计学上的显著影响。特别值得注意的是，从事轮班工作的人（8.292）、饮食不规律的人（4.455）、有不良习惯的人（2.918）以及工作时间过长的人（0.981）出现了有影响的结果，括号中的数值表明了候选人患喉咽反流的倾向程度。与普通人群相比，在医生群体中喉咽反流比预期更普遍，这表明医生中可能存在一种隐性疾病。除了临床怀疑、早期识别和管理外，调整工作时间/改善饮食卫生/通过减少行政延误来减轻压力，可能有助于医护人员度过喉咽反流的难关。该预测模型有助于按权重对因素进行分类，并预测其在导致喉咽反流中可能发挥的影响作用。
