Hyperventilation and aerophagia: a negative report.

Aerophagia is described as a frequent symptom in the hyperventilation syndrome. However, this has never been substantiated. In this study the extent of air swallowing was estimated from the size of the gastric air-bubble on the chest X-ray, in a group of 62 hyperventilators and in a group of 62 normals. No differences were found between the mean amounts of gastric air in the two groups. Women in both groups seemed to swallow more air than men. The amount of air was not related to the time of the day (meals). In 15 hyperventilators the subjective complaints of upper abdominal discomfort and of chest pain were quantified: no correlation was found with the amount of gastric air.