Strumenti per la valutazione della malattia da reflusso gastro-esofageo (MRGE). La scala GIS (GERD Impact Scale)

Background: it has been demonstrated that physicians often underestimate the impact of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms on the quality of life of their patients. Aim: to validate and translate into Italian a recently described questionnaire to be used in the evaluation of GERD symptoms, the Gastroesophageal reflux disease Impact Scale (GIS). Method: the original version of the GIS, in English, has been translated into Italian and then again into English. The two version have been then compared to solve any linguistic uncertainty and to prove that all the items are captured in the new Italian version. Results: we present here the Italian version of the GIS, to be used by Italian patients (self-assessment). Conclusions: this questionnaire, already validated from the point of view of the psychometric properties, is now available for the use in our country. It may prove to be a simple communication tool, useful for managing primary care patients with GERD.