Physicians' awareness of a unique condition involving the inability to burp has grown largely due to patients' discussions on Reddit, according to KFF Health News.
The condition, known as retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction or "no-burp syndrome," can cause painful bloating and chest pain. Since 2019, physicians have injected Botox into affected patients' upper cricopharyngeal muscle, which controls the passage of food and liquid through esophagus, as a treatment.
Robert Bastian, MD, a Chicago-area laryngologist, named the condition and performed the first procedure in 2015. He also published a research paper in 2019 outlining how to perform the treatment. Since then, he estimates his practice has treated about 1,800 people with the condition, charging about $4,000 per procedure.
Awareness of the condition and demand for the procedure has grown significantly in recent years, in large part due to patient discussions on Reddit. A subreddit dedicated to the condition has more than 31,000 members, some of whom have reported facing skepticism from physicians about their condition.
"I went to 10 doctors," Daryl Moody, the first patient to ever receive the condition, told KFF in a Sept. 6 report. "Nobody seemed to believe me that this problem even existed."
As awareness of 'no-burp syndrome' continues to grow and many patients report relief, physicians and researchers remain uncertain about the long-term efficacy of Botox treatments and the underlying mechanisms of the condition.
Read the full article here.