Each visit was identified as a visit during which the patient either received RLAT or did not receive RLAT.
All contacts with an MHS experienced by the cohort members during the first year after the index visit were identified.
Recent hospitalization/ED visit were identified if they occurred within 30 days prior to the current ED presentation.
In both cases claims submitted for procedures completed during an ED visit are identified with Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) evaluation and management codes 99281-99285.
Based on medical record review, patients who had consulted at least once for GERD (with or without treatment, and regardless of whether GERD was the main reason for the visit) were identified.
The primary reason for the visit was identified as follow-up in 51.9% of the cases, with tests (10.9%), chemotherapy (9.6%), and radiotherapy (9.0%) being the next most common.
Psychiatric hospitalization in the previous 12 months and recreational drug use in the 24 h prior to baseline study visit were identified as potential predictors of time to first psychiatric hospitalization.
Mean daily reliever use over 1 week preceding the 2-month visit was identified as a predictor of the long-term 10-month (i.e. months 3 12) probability of an exacerbation.
All women who delivered a live singleton baby at term (>37 weeks' gestation) between 1950 and 1976 and who had their weight recorded at their first antenatal visit were identified from the databank.
Independent covariates of reduction in EF and MWS from baseline to the last study visit were identified in multivariate linear regression analyses, run with an enter procedure and collinearity diagnostics.
