Netherlands: Study on Sleep Positional Therapy

A new study conducted by Jeroen M. Schuitenmaker and colleagues found that sleep positional therapy utilizing an electronic wearable tech encourages sleeping in the left lateral decubitus position and successfully alleviates nocturnal reflux symptoms. The findings of this study were published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Experiments have shown that sleep position influences the occurrence of nocturnal gastric reflux, with the left lateral decubitus position being the most beneficial. The purpose of this study was to see how a novel electronic sleep positional therapy–wearable device affected sleep position and nocturnal reflux symptoms.

A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled experiment was conducted in individuals with nocturnal gastric reflux symptoms. Patients were instructed to sleep in the left lateral decubitus position and were randomly assigned (1:1) to an electronic sleep positional therapy–wearable device that was programmed to generate vibration when in the right lateral position (intervention) or only in the first 20 minutes of sleep (sham). The primary endpoint was treatment success, which was defined as a 50% or more reduction in nocturnal reflux score. Secondary results were a shift in sleep posture and symptoms of reflux.

Key Findings

• A total of one hundred patients were randomly assigned.
• In the intention-to-treat analysis, the intervention group had a 44% success rate (22 of 50) compared to a 24% success rate in the sham group (12 of 50).
• Treatment resulted in a significant reduction in time spent sleeping in the right lateral decubitus position (intervention 2.2% vs sham 23.5%) and an increase in time spent sleeping in the left lateral decubitus position (intervention 60.9% vs sham 38.5%).
• The intervention group had more nights without reflux.

In conclusion, these findings suggest that positional treatment may be a useful supplement to the therapeutic arsenal in GERD.

Reference

Schuitenmaker, J. M., Kuipers, T., Oude Nijhuis, R. A. B., Schijven, M. P., Smout, A. J. P. M., Fockens, P., & Bredenoord, A. J. (2022). Sleep Positional Therapy for Nocturnal Gastroesophageal Reflux: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial. In Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2022.02.058