[The effect of a new formulation of almagate on gastroesophageal reflux in esophagitis patients. A randomized, single-blind and cross-over study].

The effect of postprandial administration of a new formulation of almagate (1.5 g, po) or an association of alginate + antacid (2.4 g, po) on gastric alkalinization and gastroesophageal reflux were assessed in a randomized, single-blind, cross-over study in 21 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Continuous intragastric and esophageal acidity was evaluated by postprandial intraluminal pHmetry. When comparing both preparations, the new formulation of almagate significantly improved all pHmetric variables (number of reflux episodes (3 vs 6, p = 0.029), time of esophageal exposition to pH < 4.0 (1vs 9 minutes, p = 0.009), duration of longest reflux episode (1 vs 3 minutes, p = 0.036), reflux index (1 vs 2, p = 0.047), and intragastric time with pH greater than 4.0 (108 vs 46 minutes, p = 0.003). This results suggest that the new formulation of almagate could be effective in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, since acidity profile of patients treated with it have been shown an intragastric long-lasting alkalinization wave.