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Endoscopic Therapy in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Current Evidence, Techniques,...
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Endoscopic Therapy in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Current Evidence, Techniques, and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Gastroenterology & Hepatopancreatobiliary Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 767

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Pier Alberto Testoni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, La Madonnina Clinic, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20100 Milan, Italy
Interests: IBS pancreatic diseases; cholangiocarcinoma; cirrhosis; gastrointestinal diseases; endoscopy; gastrointestinal endoscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) remains one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders worldwide, often leading to impaired quality of life and long-term complications. While pharmacologic therapy and surgical interventions have been standard management approaches, the emergence of endoscopic therapy offers a minimally invasive and increasingly effective alternative.

This Special Issue aims to highlight advances in endoscopic modalities, including radiofrequency ablation, transoral incisionless fundoplication, and endoscopic suturing techniques. Emphasis will be placed on patient selection, clinical outcomes, safety, durability, and comparisons with established medical and surgical treatments.

We welcome original research, clinical trials, and comprehensive reviews that expand the clinical evidence base and explore the evolving role of endoscopic therapy in GERD management within modern clinical practice.

Prof. Pier Alberto Testoni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gastroenterology
  • gastroesophageal reflux disease
  • GERD
  • esophageal diseases
  • endoscopic therapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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17 pages, 1463 KB  
Systematic Review
Efficacy and Safety of Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Omar Abureesh, Faris Qaqish, Mohammad Abu-Shaban, Chloe Lahoud, Toni Habib, Joelle Sleiman, Elie Moussa, Youssef El Douaihy, Jean Chalhoub and Sherif Andrawes
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(9), 3406; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093406 - 29 Apr 2026
Viewed by 518
Abstract
Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal disorder worldwide. Management strategies include lifestyle modification, pharmacologic therapy, and surgical interventions. Diaphragmatic breathing exercises have been proposed as a non-pharmacological treatment aimed at improving lower esophageal sphincter function and reducing reflux episodes. [...] Read more.
Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal disorder worldwide. Management strategies include lifestyle modification, pharmacologic therapy, and surgical interventions. Diaphragmatic breathing exercises have been proposed as a non-pharmacological treatment aimed at improving lower esophageal sphincter function and reducing reflux episodes. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from database inception to 10 March 2026 to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating diaphragmatic breathing in patients with GERD. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate pooled mean differences for symptom scores and quality-of-life outcomes. Results: Ten randomized controlled trials including 476 patients were analyzed (mean age: 39.9 ± 11.3 years). Diaphragmatic breathing interventions were performed in 229 participants, with an average duration of 20.36 min per session over approximately 5.1 weeks. Meta-analysis demonstrated a modest improvement in GERD symptom scores favoring diaphragmatic breathing (SMD −0.74; 95% CI −1.36 to −0.12; p = 0.019), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 79.7%). Subgroup analyses comparing breathing with medication and sham breathing controls produced similar trends. Quality-of-life outcomes did not demonstrate statistically significant improvement (MD −2.35; 95% CI −6.35 to 1.65; p = 0.25) and showed considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 85.3%). Risk-of-bias assessment revealed “some concerns” in several studies, primarily related to randomization procedures and outcome reporting. Conclusions: Although pooled results demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in GERD symptom scores favoring diaphragmatic breathing, this finding must be interpreted with considerable caution given the substantial heterogeneity observed. The current evidence remains limited by methodological heterogeneity, and inconsistent outcome assessment is insufficient to support definitive clinical recommendations, and the observed benefit may not be generalizable across patient populations or clinical settings. Larger standardized randomized trials are required to determine the clinical role of diaphragmatic breathing in GERD management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Endoscopic Therapy in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Current Evidence, Techniques, and Future Perspectives)
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