Efficacy of different endoscopic treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

There are no direct comparisons across different endoscopic therapies for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This study aimed to evaluate the relative effects of different endoscopic therapies in GERD. Five databases were searched until August 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the efficacy of endoscopic band ligation (EBL), Stretta, endoscopic fundoplication (transoral incisionless fundoplication [TIF], endoscopic full-thickness plication [EFTP], and EndoCinch plication procedure [EndoCinch, CR BARD, Billerica, Mass., USA]), or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)/sham procedure for GERD. Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed. A total of 19 trials comprising 1181 patients were included. EBL (mean difference [MD], −7.75; 95% credible interval [CrI], −13.90 to −1.44), Stretta (MD, −9.86; 95% CrI, −19.05 to −0.58), and TIF (MD, −12.58; 95% CrI, −20.23 to −4.91) all significantly improved patients’ health-related quality of life score with equivalent efficacy compared with PPIs. TIF and EBL achieved equivalent efficacy in reducing PPIs utility (risk ratio [RR], 0.66; 95% CrI, 0.40–1.05) and both were significantly superior to other endoscopic interventions (Stretta, EFTP, and EndoCinch). Besides, EBL and TIF also could significantly decrease the esophagitis incidence compared with PPIs (EBL [RR, 0.34; 95% CrI, 0.22–0.48] and TIF [RR, 0.38; 95% CrI, 0.15–0.88]). In terms of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure, only TIF could significantly increase the LES pressure (MD, 6.53; 95% CrI, 3.65–9.40) to PPIs. In contrast, TIF was inferior to PPIs in decreasing esophageal acid exposure (MD, 2.57; 95% CrI, 0.77–4.36). Combining the evidence, EBL and TIF may have comparable efficacy and both might be superior to Stretta, EFTP, or EndoCinch in GERD treatment.