Upper esophageal motility disorders

This article begins with a summary of the anatomy and physiology of the upper esophageal region. The appropriate diagnostic tools used in the evaluation of upper esophageal motility disorders are then detailed including cineradiography, manometry, and other modalities. Specific clinical disorders associated with pharyngeal, UES, or upper esophageal dysfunction are described followed by a section on treatment.     

Treatment of spastic esophageal motility disorders

Treatment of spastic motility disorders continues to be challenging.Therapeutic options remain limited due in part to our lack of understanding of the pathophysiology and significance of these disorders. Furthermore, most of therapeutic trials to date are hampered by the poorly designed nature of the study, including the small size of the trials and the lack of placebo arm. Most of the available information suggests that there seems to be an important dissociation between symptoms (chest pain/dysphagia) and esophageal dysmotility. Drug treatment aimed at visceral sensitivity seems more effective in relieving symptoms than spasmolytic medications. Recent trials with Botox, nitric oxide derivatives, and SSRIs offer promising results. Rigorous study design that includes large placebo-controlled trials is needed in this area.     

Medical treatment of esophageal motility disorders

Swallowing is a complex mechanism that is based on the coordinated interplay of tongue, pharynx, and esophagus. Disturbances of this interplay or disorders of one or several of these components lead to dysphagia, non-cardiac chest pain, or regurgitation. The major esophageal motility disorders include achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, hypercontractile esophagus (nutcracker esophagus), and hypocontractile esophagus (scleroderma esophagus). Other esophageal diseases such as hypopharyngeal (Zenker's) diverticula or gastroesophageal reflux disease also may be sequelae of primary esophageal motility disorder. Finally, a substantial group of patients referred for evaluation of possible esophageal motor disorders have milder degrees of dysmotility—referred to as nonspecific esophageal motor disorder—that are of unclear clinical significance. Medical treatment of esophageal motility disorders involves the uses of agents that either reduce (anticholinergic agents, nitrates, calcium antagonists) or enhance (prokinetic agents) esophageal contractility. Despite the beneficial effect of the various drugs on esophageal motility parameters, the clinical benefit of medical treatment is often disappointing. From clinical and epidemiological studies there is some evidence for a psychological component in the pathogenesis or perception of esophageal symptoms. Further understanding of esophageal pathophysiology, as well as development of new receptor selective drugs, might increase our chances of successful treatment of esophageal motility disorders.     

Reoperations after esophagomyotomy in esophageal motility disorders

Out of 96 patients with the diagnosis of primary esophageal motor disorders and treated by esophagomyotomy, a group of 9 patients is reported in whom reoperation was necessary because of persistence or worsening of the previous symptoms (8 patients) or persistent reflux esophagitis (one patient). Clinical and laboratory examinations together with the operative findings allowed classification of these patients: incomplete myotomy proximally (4 patients) or distally (one patient), fibrotic scar at the site of previous myotomy (2 patients), persistence of intact muscle fibers (one patient) and reflux esophagitis for lack of an antireflux intervention during myotomy. Treatment consisted of completing myotomy proximally or distally, resection of the fibrous tissue and an antireflux operation when indicated. Clinical results were excellent in 6 patients (66.6%), fair in 2 patients (22.2%) and bad in one case (11.1%). Fair or bad results were seen in patients with total absence of motor response to deglutition. After operation there was disappearance of vigorous contractions in the esophagus, as shown by manometry and recovery of esophageal peristalsis in another patient. We conclude that in order to improve the results of the surgical treatment of motor esophageal disorders it is essential to correctly classify the type of disorder present by means of manometry and to add a partial funduplication to ensure absence of reflux without dysphagia.     

Subtotal esophageal resection in motility disorders of the esophagus

BACKGROUND: Esophagectomy for motility disorders is performed infrequently. It is indicated after failed medical therapy, pneumatic dilation, non-resecting surgical and redo procedures. Patient selection in this group is challenging and the operative risk has to be weighted carefully against the poor quality of life with persistent or recurrent dysphagia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between September 1985 and April 2004, subtotal esophageal resections for advanced esophageal motility disorders of the esophagus not responding to previous therapy were carried out in 8 patients (6 females, 2 males). The median age of these patients was 59.5 (43-78) years. Six patients had a megaesophagus secondary to achalasia; 1 patient had a non-specific esophageal motility disorder with a stenosis of the distal esophagus, and a further patient displayed a recurrent huge epiphrenic diverticulum, which occurred in the context of a collagen disease. A transhiatal esophageal resection was performed in 6, a transthoracic procedure in 2 patients. RESULTS: Outcome assessment was done after a follow-up of 43.5 (3-92) months in median. The resection and reconstruction of the esophagus in advanced and decompensated esophageal motility disorders led to a marked functional improvement with disappearance of dysphagia. Despite previous therapeutic failures, alimentation could be restored in all patients. CONCLUSION: Favourable long-term results with significant improvement of symptoms can be achieved by esophageal resection even if endoscopic therapy or non-resecting surgical measures are unsuccessful. Transhiatal esophagectomy with gastric pull-up should be the preferred procedure and can be performed with low morbidity.     

Achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, and related motility disorders.

From 1972 to 1977, the authors observed 156 patients with primary esophageal motility disorders which caused such a severe degree of dysphagia that treatment by pneumatic dilatation was deemed necessary. Before dilatation, 24% of the patients presented with motility disorders that did not fit well into the two classical disease entities, diffuse esophageal spasm and achalasia (absence of peristalsis with presence of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxations or presence of peristalsis with absence of LES relaxations). After treatment with pneumatic dilatation, these "intermediate" forms constituted 45% of the motor disorders. This was due mainly to the reappearance, on manometric tracings, of peristaltic contractions and of LES relaxations. Radiologic and manometric observations suggest that in many patients, this "return of peristalsis" may be an apparent change in pressure pattern rather than a real change in motility. In 6 of the 156 patients, a deterioration of the esophageal motility disorder was observed, which was characterized by the loss of peristalsis and of LES relaxations over a period of a few months or years. The frequent occurrence of intermediate types of motility disorders and the transition from diffuse spasm to achalasia suggest that achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm are part of a spectrum of related motor disorders.     

高分辨率测压法在食管动力检测中的临床应用

高分辨率测压（HRM）是近年来发展的一种新型的固态测压法。采用密集分布的压力传感器同步采集整个食管的压力数据,通过计算机软件转变为三维空间图像,更简单直观地分析结果。基于HRM的分析特点出现了一种新的食管动力障碍芝加哥分类方法。本文对HRM的原理、分析指标、常见食管动力障碍性疾病在HRM中的特点及HRM的优缺点进行了概述。     

Endoscopic dilation for treatment of esophageal motility disorders

Esophageal dilation is an important therapeutic strategy in patients with esophageal motility disorders. Patients with achalasia have for many years benefited from pneumatic dilation as a definitive form of therapy, which is superior to botulinum toxin injection and equivalent in efficacy to surgical myotomy. Optimal performance of pneumatic dilation ensures maximum efficacy and reduced complication of perforation. Esophageal dilation also plays a crucial role in esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction due to strictures or prior surgical interventions as well as in esophageal hypercontractile states such as spastic disorders or in those with nonobstructive dysphagia. In this section, we will review the clinical evidence of esophageal dilation in achalasia, esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction, esophageal spastic disorders and in patients with dysphagia and nonobstructive dysphagia. We will outline specific techniques currently recommended and employed in esophageal dilations for these disorders and provide relative efficacy to other forms of therapy.     

Effect of isosorbide and hydralazine in painful primary esophageal motility disorders

Five patients with painful primary esophageal motility disorders underwent pharmacologic testing with isosorbide and hydralazine. While neither agent affected baseline amplitude or duration of distal esophageal contractions, pretreatment with hydralazine significantly blunted the response to bethanechol (mean esophageal contraction duration, 31.4 +/- 4.8 s after bethanechol alone vs. 12.7 +/- 1.8 s after bethanechol and hydralazine p less than 0.005). Premedication with isosorbide was significantly less effective. In addition, while all 5 patients experienced chest pain in response to bethanechol alone, only 1 of 5 experienced chest pain in response to bethanechol after previous hydralazine administration; 3 patients had chest pain after previous administration of isosorbide. Patients who were placed on long-term oral hydralazine therapy experienced improvement in chest pain and dysphagia with concomitant decrease in amplitude and duration of esophageal contractions on repeat motility study (176.5 +/- 23.8 mmHg to 97.3 +/- 27.0 mmHg, p less than 0.05, 7.5 +/- 0.8 s to 5.2 +/- 0.5 s, p less than 0.005). Hydralazine appears to be of value in the treatment of diffuse esophageal spasm and other painful primary esophageal motility disorders.     

Ineffective esophageal motility assessment in patients with and without pathological esophageal acid reflux

Ineffective esophageal motility (IEM), defined as minor esophageal motility disorder, is also the most common esophageal motility disorder. The relationship between gastro-esophageal reflux disease is still controversial. Our aim in this study is to evaluate whether there are differences in terms of demographic, endoscopic, or motility findings between IEM patients with pathological esophageal acid reflux and physiological reflux.Patients diagnosed with IEM according to the Chicago classification v3 with high-resolution manometry (HRM) before acid monitoring constituted the study group of our investigation. The patients were divided into 2 groups as patients with pathological esophageal reflux and patients with physiological reflux according to 24-hour acid monitoring. Demographic data, endoscopic findings, and HRM findings were compared between 2 groups.A total of 62 patients who were diagnosed with IEM according to the Chicago classification v3 were included in the study. Patients in the physiological reflux group were 7 years younger on average than the pathological reflux group. Esophagitis rates were significantly higher in the pathological reflux group (P = .033). Lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure, integrated relaxation pressure, and the presence of hernia were found to be similar in the 2 groups (P = 392, P = 182, P = 657, respectively). The rate of severe IEM was also similar between the 2 groups (P = .143).The fact that the physiological reflux patient group is younger may suggest that the IEM develops in the early period and then reflux accompanies the picture with advancing age.     

Spectrum of esophageal motility disorders in patients with liver cirrhosis

Disorders of esophageal motility have been described in patients with cirrhosis in a small number of studies. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the available evidence on esophageal motility disorders in cirrhosis and their clinical implications. This review delves into the following concepts: (1) Gastroesophageal reflux disease is common in liver cirrhosis due to many mechanisms; however, when symptomatic it is usually nocturnal and has an atypical presentation; (2) Endoscopic band ligation is better than sclerotherapy in terms of its effect on esophageal motility and seems to correct dysmotilities resulting from the mechanical effect of esophageal varices; (3) Chronic alcoholism has no major effects on esophageal motility activity other than lower esophageal sphincter hypertension among those with alcoholic autonomic neuropathy; (4) An association between primary biliary cholangitis and scleroderma can be present and esophageal hypomotility is not uncommon in this scenario; and (5) Cyclosporin-based immunosuppression in liver transplant patients can have a neurotoxic effect on the esophageal myenteric plexus leading to reversible achalasia-like manifestations.