Background The majority of endoscopic antireflux procedures for GERD are cumbersome to use and randomised long-term data are sparse. We conducted such a trial to determine the efficacy and safety of a novel, easy to use endoscopic full-thickness fundoplication (EFTP) device in patients with GERD.
Design Patients with proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-dependent GERD were randomised to either EFTP or a sham procedure in 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was ≥50% improvement in the health-related quality of life (GERD-HRQL) score at 3 months. Secondary end points included improvement in GERD-HRQL, reflux symptom scores, PPI usage, oesophageal acid exposure and reflux episodes and endoscopic findings at 3, 6 and 12 months.