Objective: The aim of this study was to determine frequency of gastroesophegeal reflux disease (GERD) and influence of GERD treatment on respiratory findings in atopic and nonatopic children with asthma.

Materials and Methods: Thirty two nonatopic, 24 atopic children with asthma were enrolled in this retrospective study. GERD related respiratory symptoms and asthma severity parameters six months prior to and after pH monitoring were recorded. 24 hour pH monitoring results were also recorded.

Results: Frequency of proximal GERD was 71.9% in atopic and 70.8% in nonatopic group (p= 0.93). Distal GERD frequencies were similar (66.7% and 68.8% in atopic and nonatopic groups respectively, p= 0.87). All parameters improved in nonatopic children after GERD treatment (p≤ 0.01). However, only respiratory symptoms and hospitalization improved in atopic children (p= 0.002 and p= 0.007 respectively).

Conclusion: Similar frequencies of GERD in atopic and nonatopic children may suggest role of asthma in development of GERD. However, improvement in all clinical parameters in nonatopic but not in atopic children might indicate that gastroesophageal reflux is the causal event in the association of asthma and GER in nonatopic children whereas it is the result in atopic ones. These findings need to be supported by further prospective cohort studies.