Long-term results of laparoscopic partial posterior fundoplication in patients with esophageal reflux and disorders of esophageal peristalsis

BACKGROUND: Gastrosophageal reflux disease (GERD) of long duration is frequently associated with impaired esophageal body motility. This condition has been considered unsuitable for antireflux surgery. METHODS: In order to investigate the outcome of antireflux surgery in the presence of impaired esophageal peristalsis, we studied 67 consecutive GERD patients with poor esophageal body function who underwent laparoscopic partial posterior fundoplication. A standardized questionnaire, upper GI endoscopy, esophageal manometry and 24-hour pH monitoring were performed preoperatively and at a median of 28 months (range, 6-54 months) postoperatively. Esophageal motility was analyzed for contraction amplitudes in the distal two thirds of the esophagus (level 3, 4, and 5), frequency of peristaltic, simultaneous and interrupted waves and total number of defective propagations. In addition, parameters defining the function of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) were-evaluated. RESULTS: Following antireflux surgery 65 patients (97%) were free of heartburn and regurgitation and had no esophagitis on endoscopy, confirmed by histology. The rate of dysphagia was reduced from 49% preoperatively to 9% postoperatively (p < 0.001). There was significant improvement in esophageal peristalsis after the antireflux procedure. The median DeMeester reflux score was reduced from 33.3 to 1.1 (p < 0.001). Lower esophageal sphincter pressure and intra-abdominal length were normal after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Partial posterior fundoplication provides an effective antireflux barrier in patients with impaired esophageal body motility in the long term. Postoperative dysphagia is avoided by improving esophageal body function.     

Prokinetic activity of nizatidine: implications for the management of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Gastroesophageal reflux is a common condition caused mainly by motility disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The most effective therapy combines acid suppression with a promotility agent. Nizatidine is a well-tolerated and effective histamine-2 (H2)-receptor antagonist used to suppress gastric acid secretion. Animal and human studies have conclusively demonstrated that nizatidine also has prokinetic activity comparable to that of cisapride, and its effect is evident <1 hour after administration of doses commonly used in clinical practice. This prokinetic activity occurs through noncompetitive inhibition of acetylcholine; this inhibition approximates the inhibition caused by neostigmine. Nizatidine appears to possess a prokinetic mechanism that may be helpful in treating patients with gastroesophageal reflux.     

Chest pain, dysphagia, and high amplitude esophageal peristalsis: a clinical and manometric study

Recent literature has called attention to an esophageal motor abnormality characterized by high amplitude peristaltic contractions (HAPC). We characterized symptoms, manometric characteristics, and radiographic findings of 19 such patients and compared them to patients with other nonspecific esophageal motor disorders (NEMD). In the HAPC group, mean amplitude was 254 +/- 14 mm Hg, which was significantly higher than that of control subjects (94 +/- 8.9 mm Hg) and of those with other NEMD (116 +/- 10.8 mm Hg). Contractile duration of the HAPC and NEMD groups was 6.9 +/- 0.5 sec and 5.9 +/- 0.4 sec, respectively, both being significantly higher than normal. Results of esophagograms were frequently abnormal in both groups, but there was no specific abnormality separating the two groups. There was a high incidence of chest pain and dysphagia in the HAPC group. These data suggest that HAPC may represent a distinct subgroup of primary esophageal motor disorders.     

反流性食管炎患者食管动力学改变对疗效的影响

目的探讨反流性食管炎（RE）患者不同食管动力障碍对抑酸剂及促胃肠动力剂的治疗反应,为临床RE的治疗提供方法学选择。方法对临床及胃镜诊断为RE的104例患者进行食管压力测定,并同时进行14d的埃索美拉唑及莫沙比利分散片治疗,观察不同食管动力障碍患者的疗效。结果经14d治疗,104例患者临床症状改善情况：显效64例,有效32例,总有效率为92．3％,其中治疗A组（LESP降低或正常,伴食管蠕动减弱者）疗效明显优于治疗B组（LESP增高或正常,或伴食管腔压力增高）（P〈0．01）。结论对抑酸剂及促动力药物疗效欠佳的RE患者,可能存在不同的食管动力障碍,食管测压可能对此有一定的鉴别意义,而在治疗时不应常规给予治RE药物,应体现个体化治疗原则。     

Psycho-autonomic aspects in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, and functional esophageal disorders

The subjects of the study were 79 patients (35 with functional esophageal disorders (FED), 24 with nonerosive reflux disease (NERD), and 20 with erosive reflux disease (ERD), who were selected on the basis of clinical complaints, 24-hour ph-study, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy. All the subjects were evaluated by means of clinical questionnaires and psychological tests: Beck depression test, Spielberg State-Trait Anxiety inventory (STAI), and Toronto alexithymia test (TAS). In FED and NERD patients vs. ERD patients the following abnormalities were observed more frequently: autonomic and functional somatic symptoms (apart from gastrointestinal tract (GIT) complaints) (p < 0.01), sleep disturbances (p < 0.01), fatigue (p < 0.01), eating behavior disorders (DEBQ) (p < 0.05), maternal overprotection in childhood (p < 0.05), psychophysioligical GIT reaction in childhood (p < 0.05), higher levels of state and trait anxiety (p < 0.05), and hypochondria (p < 0.05). The clinical symptom index (CSI) (the sum of stomach and bowel complaints to the sum of esophageal complaints ratio) was calculated. CSI in FED and NERD patients was 1.8, while CSI in ERD patients--0.1 (p < 0). Thus, compared to ERD patients, patients with FED and NERD were characterized by more pronounced emotional, motivational, and autonomic disorders. Besides, CSI demonstrated that the character of gastrointestinal dysfunction was more diffuse in NERD and FED and more local--in ERD patients.     

Kinematic and clinical analyses of upper-extremity movements after constraint-induced movement therapy in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) relative to traditional intervention on motor-control strategies for upper-arm reaching and motor performance at the impairment and functional levels in stroke patients. DESIGN: Two-group randomized controlled trial (RCT); pretreatment and posttreatment measures. SETTING: Rehabilitation clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-seven stroke patients (mean age, 55y) 3 weeks to 37 months postonset of a first-ever cerebrovascular accident. INTERVENTIONS: Forty-seven patients received either CIMT (restraint of the less affected hand combined with intensive training of the more affected upper extremity) or traditional intervention (control treatment) during the study. The treatment intensity was matched between the 2 groups (2h/d, 5d/wk for 3wk). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes were evaluated using (1) kinematic variables of reaching movement used to describe the control strategies for reaching, (2) the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) of motor-impairment severity, and (3) the Motor Activity Log (MAL) evaluating the functional ability of the upper extremity. RESULTS: After treatment, the CIMT group showed better strategies of reaching control than the control group (P<.03). The CIMT group also showed less motor impairment on the FMA (P=.019) and higher functional ability on the MAL (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first RCT to show differences in motor-control strategies as measured by kinematic variables after CIMT versus traditional intervention. In addition to improving motor performance at the impairment and functional levels, CIMT conferred therapeutic benefits on control strategies determined by kinematic analysis.     

老年反流性食管炎患者的临床特点及食管运动功能分析

【摘要】目的探讨老年反流性食管炎（RE）患者的临床表现、内镜、幽门螺杆菌（Up）感染及食管运动功能特点,为老年RE患者的治疗提供理论依据。方法选取我院近3年来经内镜诊断并行食管测压及食管24hpH值监测的老年RE患者56例与同期检出的中青年RE患者58例,分析两组患者的临床表现、内镜、Hp感染及食管运动功能特点。结果老年组反酸、胃灼热的发生率明显低于中青年组（P〈0．05）。老年组轻中度食管炎发生率低于中青年组,重度食管炎发生率高于中青年组,差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。老年组食管裂孔疝（HH）合并率显著高于中青年组（P〈0．05）。老年组伴发Barrett食管（BE）7例（12．5％）,中青年组3例（5．2％）,差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。老年组Hp阳性率29．6％;中青年组Hp阳性率26．4％,差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。老年组下食管括约肌压力（LESP）、食管体部压力明显低于中青年组（P〈O．05）。反流〉5min次数老年组明显高于中青年组（P〈0．05）。结论老年RE患者的典型症状发生率明显低于中青年人,非典型症状高于中青年人。RE食管黏膜破损程度随年龄增加而加重。老年RE患者HH的发生率增加,BE发生率较中青年人有增高趋势,Hp感染率与中青年RE患者相近。老年人RE患者抗反流能力减弱、食管酸廓清能力下降明显,可出现更严重的食管运动功能障碍。     

Relief of reflux symptoms after endoscopic gastroplication may be associated with reduced esophageal Acid sensitivity: a pilot study

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Although the new endoscopic techniques for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) lead to marked clinical benefit, the underlying mechanism of this is unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, the effect of endoscopic gastroplication was investigated in six patients with GERD, who were assessed before and 4 weeks after treatment. The effect on reflux symptoms, quality of life, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) consumption, reflux esophagitis, acid exposure, esophageal motility, lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP), and gastric emptying was measured. Esophageal acid sensitivity before and after treatment was investigated using a standardized acid provocation test, and compared with that of six age- and sex-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: Significant clinical benefit and discontinuation of PPI consumption after gastroplication was seen. Among the objectively measured parameters, only acid exposure was significantly reduced and gastric emptying significantly delayed. However, acid exposure remained pathologically high. Esophageal acid sensitivity was significantly reduced. The induction of heartburn and/or pain was abolished in four patients after gastroplication. In two patients the intensity of heartburn/pain was significantly reduced by 40 % or 60 %, and the time to provoke heartburn/pain significantly prolonged by 40% or 100%. CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that the decrease of esophageal sensitivity to acid after endoscopic gastroplication is part of the mechanism responsible for the reduction of reflux symptoms.     

Long-term clinical outcome of elderly patients with reflux esophagitis: a six-month to three-year follow-up study

Although the prevalence of reflux esophagitis is known to increase with age, data on the long-term outcome of esophagitis in elderly patients are scarce. We sought to evaluate the clinical outcome of elderly patients with esophagitis 6 months to 3 years after diagnosis and to identify specific prognostic indicators of a poor outcome. This was a long-term (6 months to 3 years) follow-up study. Patients older than 65 years of age diagnosed as having reflux esophagitis healed after acute treatment (2 to 4 months) were included in the study. Clinical examinations and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were performed every 6 months for the first year and annually thereafter. After healing, no therapy was prescribed; in the event of symptom recurrence, a maintenance therapy consisting either of H2 blockers or proton pump inhibitors (PPI) was prescribed. At baseline and during follow-up, the following clinical parameters were recorded: gender, age, the presence of symptoms (heartburn, acid regurgitation, epigastric/chest pain), type and dose of the maintenance therapy, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use; gastric Helicobacter pylori infection, diagnosis of hiatal hernia, and/or Barrett's esophagus. The chi-square test, the Kaplan-Meier test, and Cox's proportional hazards regression analysis were used for statistical analyses. Included in the final analysis were 138 patients (M/F, 81/57; mean age, 79.7 years; range, 66-97). The numbers of patients in need of maintenance therapy were 47 of 69 (68.1%) after 6 months, 29 of 58 (50%) after 12 months, 17 of 39 (43.6%) after 24 months, and 12 of 26 (46.1%) after 36 months of follow-up. A significantly higher esophagitis relapse rate was found in patients not treated compared with subjects who were in maintenance therapy: 59% versus 8.5% (P <.0001) at 6 months, 65.5% versus 20.7% at 12 months (P <.002), 63.6% versus 11.7% at 24 months (P =.003), and 57.1% versus 8.3% at 36 months (P =.02). No significant difference in relapse rate was found in patients treated with H2 blockers versus PPIs (21.7% versus 10%). The Cox model demonstrated that no maintenance treatment (P =.00001), the presence of typical symptoms (P =.00001), the presence of hiatal hernia (P =.03), and a high severity grade of esophagitis at baseline (P =.009) were risk factors for relapse of esophagitis. In elderly subjects, esophagitis relapse occurs in a high percentage of cases, particularly in patients not treated with antisecretory drugs. The presence of typical symptoms, hiatal hernia, and a severe grade of esophagitis are risk factors for relapse. The most effective measure for minimizing the occurrence of relapse is a maintenance therapy with antisecretory drugs.     

The prognostic value of clinical and pathologic factors in esophageal adenocarcinoma: a mayo cohort of 796 patients with extended follow-up after surgical resection

OBJECTIVE: To identify and describe clinicopathologic prognostic factors in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection with curative intent.PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 796 patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, or gastric cardia who underwent complete tumor resection at Mayo Clinic from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1997. We reviewed individual patient medical records and abstracted demographic, pathologic, perioperative, and cancer outcome data. Median follow-up for vital status and disease recurrence was 12.8 and 5.8 years, respectively.RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed the following factors to be statistically associated with worse 5-year disease-specific survival: higher N and T status, higher tumor grade, age older than 76 years, and the presence of extracapsular lymph node extension and signet ring cells. The following factors remained significantly linked with worse 5-year disease-specific survival on multivariate analysis: higher N and T status, grade, and age and the absence of preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Anatomic location of tumor was not associated with differential prognosis. Lymph node metastases were found in 25 (27%) of 93 T1b tumors, 397 (85%) of 468 T3 tumors, and 22 (67%) of 33 T4a tumors. Disease-specific survival was better in T3-4N0 than in T1bN1-3 carcinomas (hazard ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.89, adjusted for grade and age; P=.02).CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the importance of T and N status and tumor grade and suggest that age may affect prognosis. In addition, we show that a significant proportion of superficial esophageal adenocarcinomas exhibit regional metastases and have worse prognosis than more invasive nonmetastatic tumors.AIC = Akaike information criterion; AJCC = American Joint Committee on Cancer; CI = confidence interval; DFS = disease-free survival; DSS = disease-specific survival; EAC = esophageal adenocarcinoma; ESCC = esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; GEJ = gastroesophageal junction; HR = hazard ratio; LN = lymph node; OS = overall survivalThe increase in the incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), and gastric cardia in recent decades has been among the highest for any cancer in Western countries.¹ This triad of adenocarcinomas (designated esophageal adenocarcinoma [EAC] in this article) has grown more than 400% in incidence in the past 40 years, paralleling the increase in obesity and gastroesophageal reflux.² It is lethal in most cases, yet its degree of aggressiveness also varies from person to person.³ These statistics signal a need for a better understanding of not only EAC etiology, but its progression and long-term clinical behavior. Understanding and exploiting the heterogeneity in prognosis are critical to improving outcomes in EAC patients and require the study of large cohorts with well-described and robust follow-up. Because the emergence of EAC as a worsening public health burden is recent, our knowledge of its behavior has been limited by the small sample sizes of most studies and by the combining of heterogeneous diseases (glandular with squamous histologies, esophageal with distal stomach carcinomas) and therapies.The main objective of our study was to assess which, and by what magnitude, clinicopathologic factors influence the long-term “natural” course in a homogeneous cohort of EAC patients who underwent surgical resection. To diminish (although not completely eliminate) the potential prognostic effects of systemic therapy, we focused on patients who underwent surgery before 1998. Perioperative therapy (typically involving preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy to patients with muscle-invasive or node-positive disease) was not commonly recommended until the late 1990s at Mayo Clinic and other centers.⁴ A postsurgical group remains clinically relevant in the contemporary trimodality era because surgical resection remains the foundation of curative-intent treatment.⁵We also focused on adenocarcinoma histology, rather than esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), because EAC and ESCC appear to be different clinical entities. Obesity and symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease clearly increase risk for EAC, with modest contributions from tobacco and a diet low in fruits and vegetables, whereas ESCC is more heavily related to tobacco and alcohol exposure.^6,7 When EAC recurs, the anatomic location of recurrence tends to be distant more often than in ESCC.^8,9 Whereas EAC incidence has dramatically increased since 1975 in the United States, ESCC incidence has dropped by half over the same time period.¹⁰This is one of the largest reported single-institution cohort studies^11-13 to describe long-term cancer outcomes for EAC in which patients underwent complete resection of all tumor mostly without perioperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy.     

The clinical implications of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with esophageal or lung cancer after chemoradiation therapy

Purpose This study aims to identify the clinical implications of myocardial perfusion defects after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with esophageal and lung cancer. Methods We retrospectively compared myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) results before and after CRT in 16 patients with esophageal cancer and 24 patients with lung cancer. New MPI defects in the radiation therapy (RT) fields were considered related to RT. Follow-up to evaluate for cardiac complications and their relation with the results of MPI was performed. Statistical analysis identified predictors of cardiac morbidities. Results Eleven females and twenty nine males at a mean age of 66.7 years were included. Five patients (31%) with esophageal cancer and seven patients (29%) with lung cancer developed myocardial ischemia in the RT field at mean intervals of 7.0 and 8.4 months after RT. The patients were followed-up for mean intervals of 15 and 23 months in the esophageal and lung cancer groups, respectively. Seven patients in each of the esophageal (44%) and lung (29%) cancer patients (P = 0.5) developed cardiac complications of which one patient with esophageal cancer died of complete heart block. Six out of the fourteen patients (43%) with cardiac complication had new ischemia on MPI after CRT of which only one developed angina. The remaining eight patients with cardiac complications had normal MPI results. MPI result was not a statistically significant predictor of future cardiac complications after CRT. A history of congestive heart failure (CHF) (P = 0.003) or arrhythmia (P = 0.003) is a significant predictor of cardiac morbidity after CRT in univariate analysis but marginal predictors when multivariate analysis was performed (P = 0.06 and 0.06 for CHF and arrhythmia, respectively). Conclusions Cardiac complications after CRT are more common in esophageal than lung cancer patients but the difference is not statistically significant. MPI abnormalities are frequently seen after CRT but are not predictive of future cardiac complications. A history of arrhythmia or CHF is significantly associated with cardiac complications after CRT.     

Photodynamic therapy for esophageal diseases: a clinical update

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a "drug and device" therapy that combines the use of a photosensitizing agent and a photosensitizer (a drug that selectively accumulates and is preferentially retained in dysplastic or neoplastic cells). When activated by light of a specific wavelength in the presence of oxygen, the photoactive compound produces rapid cell death in the target tissue. While studied in nearly every area of medicine, PDT has been applied most extensively in the treatment of Barrett's mucosa, dysplasia, and early and advanced cancer of the esophagus. This article represents an extensive survey of literature to review the experience gained with PDT and to assess its clinical value in the management of esophageal diseases.     

Intra-oral myofascial therapy for chronic myogenous temporomandibular disorders: a randomized, controlled pilot study

Objectives

Studies investigating the efficacy of intra-oral myofascial therapies (IMT) for chronic temporomandibular disorder (TMD) are rare. The objective of this randomized, controlled pilot study was to compare the effects of IMT and the addition of self-care and education over 6 months on four common TMD outcome measures: inter-incisal opening range, jaw pain at rest, jaw pain upon opening, and jaw pain upon clenching.

Participants

Thirty myogenous TMD participants between the ages of 18 and 50 years, experiencing chronic jaw pain of longer than 3-month duration, were recruited for the present study.

Intervention

Included patients were randomized into one of three groups: (1) IMT consisting of two treatment interventions per week for 5 weeks; (2) IMT plus ‘self-care’ involving education and exercises; and (3) wait list control.

Main outcome measures

Range of motion findings were measured in millimetres by vernier callipers and pain scores were quantified using an 11-point self-reported graded chronic pain scale. Measurements were taken at baseline, 6 weeks post-treatment, and 6 months post-treatment.

Results

The results showed statistically significant differences in resting, opening, and clenching pain and opening range scores (P<0.05) in both treatment groups compared to control at 6 months. No significant differences were observed between the two treatment groups during the course of the trial.

Conclusions

This study suggests that IMT alone or with the addition of self-care may be of some benefit in the management of chronic TMD over the short-medium term. A larger scale study over a longer term (1–2 years) may be of further value.     

Goal-directed therapy in high-risk surgical patients: a 15-year follow-up study

Purpose

Goal-directed therapy in the perioperative setting has been shown to be associated with short-term improvements in outcome. This study assesses the longer-term survival of patients from a previous randomized controlled trial of goal-directed therapy in high-risk surgical patients.

Methods

All patients from a previous randomized controlled study were followed up for 15 years following randomization to ascertain their length of survival following surgery. Factors that may be associated with increased survival were evaluated to determine what influenced long-term outcomes.

Results

Data from 106 of the original 107 patients (99%) were available for analysis. At 15 years, 11 (20.7%) of the goal-directed therapy patients versus 4 (7.5%) of the control group were alive (p = 0.09). Median survival for the goal-directed group was increased by 1,107 days (1,781 vs. 674 days, p = 0.005). Long-term survival was associated with three independent factors: age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.04 (1.02–1.07), p < 0.0001], randomization to the goal-directed group of the study [HR 0.61 (0.4–0.92), p = 0.02], and avoidance of a significant postoperative cardiac complication [HR 3.78 (2.16–6.6), p = 0.007].

Conclusions

Long-term survival after major surgery is related to a number of factors, including patient age and avoidance of perioperative complications. Short-term goal-directed therapy in the perioperative period may improve long-term outcomes, in part due to its ability to reduce the number of perioperative complications.