Clinical, radiological, and manometric profile in 145 patients with untreated achalasia

Achalasia

This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment of achalasia, a rare esophageal motility disorder characterized by absent peristalsis and failure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to relax. Various treatment options including management with sublingual nitrates or calcium channel blockers, injection of the LES with botulism toxin, pneumatic dilation of the LES, and pneumatic dilation are discussed. Laparoscopic Heller myotomy is minimally invasive with incumbent low morbidity and mortality rates, and combined with a partial fundoplication is a durable, safe, and effective treatment option for patients with achalasia.

Review article: an analysis of the efficacy, perforation rates and methods used in pneumatic dilation for achalasia

BACKGROUND

Pneumatic dilation has re-emerged as a first line treatment for achalasia, but conclusions are limited by the relatively small numbers of patients studied and the lack of long term follow-up.

AIM

To summarise and analyse 29 available studies evaluating pneumatic dilation for achalasia with focus on efficacy, rate or perforation and dilation technique.

METHODS

A literature search for all studies, in which pneumatic dilation was performed for treatment of achalasia, was conducted. Studies, in which clear endpoints of efficacy of single dilation sessions over a period of years, were chosen.

RESULTS

The response for a single dilation session was 66% at 1 year and 59, 53, 50 and 25% at 2, 3, 5 and 10 years respectively. Use of a Rigiflex dilator and multiple dilations during the initial treatment improved efficacy. Overall perforation rate was only 2% (24/1358) of which only 1% required surgery. Use of multiple dilations led to increased perforation risk. The method of dilation used with regard to balloon size, pressure used, dilation times and single or multiple dilations varied in almost every study.

CONCLUSIONS

Pneumatic dilation is safer than commonly thought and efficacious, although multiple dilations will be needed over a lifetime in most patients. Standardisation of the technique should be attempted.

Surgical treatment for achalasia: when should it be performed, and for which patients?

Achalasia is a rare motor disorder of the esophagus, characterized by the absence of peristalsis and impaired swallow-induced relaxation. In the past decade, evidence has been accumulated suggesting that achalasia may be an immune-mediated inflammatory disorder. With the advent of minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) has slowly shifted the treatment of achalasia toward the greater use of surgical therapy. The goal of both surgical and nonsurgical treatment is to eliminate the outflow obstruction afforded by a nonrelaxing sphincter, relieving dysphagia and maintaining a barrier against gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Endoscopic botulinum toxin injection (EBTI) is safe, easy to perform, inexpensive, and effective in aged patients, and it is especially effective when the lower esophageal pressure is hypertonic. This therapeutic option is reserved for patients too ill to undergo any surgical procedure. Pneumatic dilation (PD) has been shown to be an effective and inexpensive treatment with few adverse effects. The long-term success rate of PD seems to drop progressively over time. Heller myotomy (HM) has shown the best clinical efficacy in achalasia as a first-line treatment. Multiple endoscopic treatments are associated with poorer outcomes after HM. EBTI also makes LHM more difficult and results in a worse surgical outcome. The inferior symptomatic outcomes after thoracoscopic HM may be caused by the difficulty in extending an adequate myotomy onto the stomach from the chest and the inability to create a fundoplication. LHM with Dor's fundoplication (LHM + Dor) is effective and is safer procedure for avoiding GER, dysphagia, mucosal perforation, and a pseudodiverticulum. LHM + Dor is also effective in the presence of sigmoid achalasia, but the clinical result is not as good as nonsigmoid achalasia. A few patients need esophagectomy for surgical failure of HM. However, considering the risk of esophagectomy, LHM + Dor is the first treatment option for patients with achalasia regardless of the degree of esophageal dilatation. This procedure is therefore considered to be an effective and safe treatment for patients of any age or with any condition.

Prevalence of respiratory symptoms in patients with achalasia

Achalasia is a primary esophageal motor disorder that results in poor clearance of the esophagus. Although an esophagus filled with debris and undigested food should put these patients at risk for aspiration, the frequency with which the latter occurs has never been documented. In this study, we sought to determine the incidence of respiratory symptoms and complaints in patients with achalasia. A comprehensive symptom questionnaire was administered to 110 patients with achalasia presenting to the Swallowing Center at the University of Washington between 1994 and 2008 as part of their preoperative work-up. Questionnaires were analyzed for the frequency of respiratory complaints in addition to the more typical symptoms of dysphagia, regurgitation, and chest pain. Twenty-two achalasia patients with respiratory symptoms who had also undergone Heller myotomy and completed a post-op follow-up questionnaire were analyzed as a subset. Ninety-five patients (86%) complained of at least daily dysphagia. Fifty-one patients (40%) reported the occurrence of at least one respiratory symptom daily, including cough in 41 patients (37%), aspiration (the sensation of inhaling regurgitated esophagogastric material) in 34 patients (31%), hoarseness in 23 patients (21%), wheezing in 17 patients (15%), shortness of breath in 11 patients (10%), and sore throat in 13 patients (12%). Neither age nor gender differed between those with and those without respiratory symptoms. In the subset of patients with respiratory symptoms who had undergone Heller myotomy, respiratory symptoms improved in the majority after the procedure. Patients with achalasia experience respiratory symptoms with much greater frequency than the approximately 10% that was previously believed. Awareness of this association may be important in the workup and ultimate treatment of patients with this uncommon esophageal disorder.

Achalasia and other esophageal motility disorders

Achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, nutcracker esophagus, and the hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter are considered primary esophageal motility disorder. These disorders are characterized by esophageal dysmotility that is responsible for the symptoms. While there is today a reasonable consensus about the pathophysiology, the diagnosis, and the treatment of achalasia, this has not occurred for the other disorders. A careful evaluation is therefore necessary before an operation is considered.

Achalasia: analysis of 57 cases

AIM: To analyze the clinical manifestations of patients with achalasia and to characterize the manometric parameters of the esophageal body and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) in these patients.

METHODS: The clinical manifestations of 57 patients with achalasia were analyzed. LES length (LESL), LES pressure (LESP), LES relaxation rate (LESRR), and the type and amplitude of esophageal peristaltic contraction in these patients and 20 healthy controls were measured. A pneumohydraulic capillary perfusion system with 6-lumen Dent-Sleeve catheter from MMS was used to record esophageal manometric parameters.

RESULTS: The ratio of male to female for all the 57 patients was 1.1:1. The majority (80%) of patients ranged in age between 25-60 years. Chief complaints in these patients were dysphagia and regurgitation. LESRR in the achalasia group was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group (41.5% ± 18.6% vs 96.1% ± 2.5%, P < 0.01). Aperistalsis in the esophageal body was detected in all achalasia patients but not in healthy controls (100% vs 0, P < 0.01). LESL, LESP and the amplitude of esophageal body showed no significant differences between the achalasia group and healthy control group.

CONCLUSION: Incomplete LES relaxation and aperistalsis of the esophageal body are two manometric features of achalasia, and elevated resting LESP and low average contraction amplitude of the esophageal body are not present in all the patients. The results obtained in this study will be helpful for early diagnosis of achalasia and selection of therapeutic modality.

Effect of laparoscopic esophagomyotomy on chest pain associated with achalasia and prediction of therapeutic outcomes

BACKGROUND

The effect of myotomy for achalasia on chest pain has not been clarified. The current study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of laparoscopic myotomy on chest pain associated with achalasia and to identify prognostic factors for outcomes.

METHOD

Between March 2005 and September 2008, 95 patients were available for detailed interviews and for assessment of clearance by timed barium esophagogram (TBE) before and after surgery. Of the 95 patients, 47 (24 men; mean age, 42.9 ± 13.5 years) who experienced chest pain before surgery were studied. The subjects were asked in detail about dysphagia and chest pain before surgery and 6 months after surgery. The frequency and severity of the symptoms were graded on a scale of 0 to 4. In addition, the values obtained by multiplying the grade for frequency by the grades for severity of the two symptoms were defined as the dysphagia score and the chest pain score, respectively. The patients with chest pain scores of 0 after surgery were defined as group A and those with scores smaller than their preoperative scores as group B. The remaining patients with other scores were defined as group C. The background factors and clinical conditions of the three groups were compared.

RESULTS

The mean chest pain score decreased from 5.0 ± 3.2 to 1.0 ± 1.6 (p < 0.001). The score after surgery was 0 for 27 patients and showed a decrease for 15 patients. Although the three groups did not differ in their characteristics, differences were noted in postoperative TBE factors (i.e., groups A and B had significantly shorter barium columns than group C at 1 and 5 min after surgery (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic myotomy had a therapeutic effect on chest pain associated with achalasia, and improvement in postoperative esophageal clearance may influence the therapeutic effect.

Basal and residual lower esophageal pressures increase in old age in classic achalasia, but not vigorous achalasia

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The relationship between age and esophageal motility parameters (i.e. basal and residual pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter [LES]) remains to be established in achalasia patients, possibly because most previous studies did not distinguish between classic and vigorous achalasia patients. We investigated the relationship between age and esophageal motility parameters in both classic and vigorous achalasia patients.

METHODS

A retrospective review of esophageal manometry data in a single center was undertaken. Basal and residual pressure for LES was analyzed. A total of 103 achalasia patients were enrolled, comprising 84 classic and 19 vigorous types. They were subdivided into three different age groups as follows: 21-40 years old (group A), 41-60 years old (group B), and over 60 years old (group C).

RESULTS

In classic achalasia patients (M : F = 27:57, mean age = 44 +/- 15 years old) the older age group showed a significantly higher basal LES pressure (49.62 +/- 19.63 mmHg) than the younger age group (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the older age group also showed significantly high residual LES pressure (20.46 +/- 8.61 mmHg) than the younger age group (P = 0.0006). In contrast, in vigorous achalasia patients (M : F = 12:7, mean age: 47 +/- 15 years old) there were no difference between age and motility indices (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In classic achalasia patients there appears to be a correlation between age and esophageal motility indices, especially basal and residual LES pressure. Such correlations do not appear to exist for vigorous achalasia patients.

The evolution of oesophageal function testing and its clinical applications in the management of patients with oesophageal disorders

The last decade has brought significant technical advances in laparoscopic surgery. In this constantly evolving technological climate, less told is the story of the evolution of diagnostic technology that improved the clinical management of patients with oesophageal disorders. The successful outcome of the laparoscopic treatment of oesophageal disorders is due to a combination of three different factors: the skills and the ability of the foregut surgeon, the high volume of referral, the expertise in the critical evaluation of the oesophageal function tests. This is an art per se, and it is rarely acknowledged in the achievement of the excellent results of surgery. Oesophageal function testing provides the clinician with information that cannot be obtained by the clinical, endoscopic, and radiological evaluation of patients. This expertise, intimately coupled with the other factors, allows the surgeon to better understand the pathophysiology of these diseases and to provide the optimal management. Therefore, it is essential to understand the evolution that this technology is currently undergoing, and how these changes are expanding the current indications for antireflux surgery by identifying additional predictors of successful outcome.

Current clinical approach to achalasia

Idiopathic achalasia is a rare primary motility disorder of the esophagus. The classical features are incomplete relaxation of a frequently hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and a lack of peristalsis in the tubular esophagus. These motor abnormalities lead to dysphagia, stasis, regurgitation, weight loss, or secondary respiratory complications. Although major strides have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of this rare disorder, including a probable autoimmune mediated destruction of inhibitory neurons in response to an unknown insult in genetically susceptible individuals, a definite trigger has not been identified. The diagnosis of achalasia is suggested by clinical features and confirmed by further diagnostic tests, such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), manometry or barium swallow. These studies are not only used to exclude pseudoachalasia, but also might help to categorize the disease by severity or clinical subtype. Recent advances in diagnostic methods, including high resolution manometry (HRM), might allow prediction of treatment responses. The primary treatments for achieving long-term symptom relief are surgery and endoscopic methods. Although limited high-quality data exist, it appears that laparoscopic Heller myotomy with partial fundoplication is superior to endoscopic methods in achieving long-term relief of symptoms in the majority of patients. However, the current clinical approach to achalasia will depend not only on patients’ characteristics and clinical subtypes of the disease, but also on local expertise and patient preferences.