Table 2.

Pharyngeal acidic reflux does not correlate with reflux symptom index (RSI) or reflux finding score (RFS) in patients with LPR (separate analysis in RSI- and RFS-positive patients)

Pharyngeal reflux	RSI-positive patients (N = 20)		RFS-positive patients (N = 21)
	Numbera and durationb of reflux episodes	Correlation with RSI r#1	Numbera and durationb of reflux episodes	Correlation with RFS r#2
pH < 4.0
Number	0[0–1]	− 0.19	0[0–1]	− 0.28
Duration	7 ± 4 s	− 0.17	7 ± 4 s	− 0.34
pH < 4.5
Number	0.5[0–1]	− 0.13	1[0–1]	− 0.06
Duration	18 ± 18 s	− 0.23	19 ± 8 s	− 0.26
pH < 5.0
Number	1[0–2]	+0.06	1[0–3]	− 0.21
Duration	36 ± 16 s	− 0.33	38 ± 16 s	− 0.20
pH < 5.5
Number	3.5[1–6]	+0.10	4[2–7]	− 0.14
Duration	75 ± 25 s	− 0.35	68 ± 22 s	− 0.27
pH < 6.0
Number	13.5[8–23]	+0.21	14[8–21]	+ 0.25
Duration	305 ± 62 s	− 0.26	314 ± 60 s	− 0.03
Upright
pH < 6.0
Number	13[7–21]	+0.21	13[8–19]	+ 0.20
Impedance refluxc [7]
Number	1[1–3]	− 0.20	1[1–3]	− 0.29
Impedance refluxd [25]
Number	0[0–1]	− 0.30	1[0–1]	− 0.36

^aNumber of reflux episodes per 24 h for indicated pH values expressed as median[IQR]

^bDuration of pharyngeal acid exposure per 24 h for indicated pH values expressed as mean ±SEM

^cLPR was defined according to Zerbib et al. [7]. No correlation was found even when upright and supine LPR was analyzed separately (not shown)

^dLPR was defined according to Kawamura et al. [23]. No correlation was found even when upright, and supine LPR was analyzed separately (not shown)

^#1Pearson correlation coefficient r > 0.37 is required for positive directional correlation in RSI-positive patients for significant correlation (P < 0.05)

^#2Pearson correlation coefficient r > 0.36 is required for positive directional correlation in RSF-positive patients for significant correlation (P < 0.05)