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Pharmacological and other treatment modalities for esophageal pain
Author(s) -
Hoff Dag Arne Lihaug,
Brock Christina,
Farmer Adam D.,
Dickman Ram,
Ruffle James K.,
Shaker Anisa,
Drewes Asbjørn M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.13151
Subject(s) - medicine , heartburn , modalities , intensive care medicine , treatment modality , pathological , therapeutic modalities , chest pain , physical therapy , disease , reflux , social science , sociology
Treatment of esophageal pain remains a major challenge for the clinician. Although many patients have heartburn and may respond to proton pump inhibitors, there in an unmet need for other treatment modalities in patients where there are no obvious pathological findings. Although analgesics are the mainstay in esophageal pain treatment, many patients are nonresponders to these drugs. The current concise review focuses on other systems affecting pain processing, where better understanding may serve as a framework for therapy. These are the parasympathetic nervous system, exercise, and personality profiles. Finally, treatment with analgesics for functional chest pain remains a challenge, and an overview of treatment with antidepressive drugs is provided.