SAGES Issues New Practice Guideline That Includes RFA for Treatment of GERD

The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons has issued a new practice guideline for the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, which includes the use of radiofrequency ablation in the management of GERD and Barrett's esophagus, according to a news release from BARRX Medical, a developer of minimally invasive medical devices.

The authors of the SAGES practice guideline, after reviewing relevant published scientific studies, noted that in patients with earlier stages of Barrett's esophagus, "RFA has been shown to be safe, clinically effective and cost-effective in these disease states," according to the release.

"The SAGES practice guideline is the first set of official recommendations from a professional society which have included the most recently published clinical trial outcomes related to the use of endoscopic RFA for treating Barrett's esophagus," David S. Utley, MD, chief medical officer for BARRX Medical, said in the release. "We are pleased that the SAGES guideline has provided the recommendation that endoscopic RFA has clinical utility and should be offered as an option for patients with non-dysplastic and dysplastic Barrett's esophagus based on the quality of the clinical evidence. Verification, by SAGES, that RFA is a medically necessary option for patients with Barrett's is important as physicians, patients and payors consider this endoscopic treatment."

Read the BARRX release on the use of RFA in GERD treatment.