title: Clinical and manometric aspects of diffuse esophageal spasm in a cohort of subjects evaluated for dysphagia and/or chest pain.
abstract: Manometric criteria for diffuse esophageal spasm have recently been restated. In this study, a cohort of 358 subjects was evaluated in a gastrointestinal motility laboratory for dysphagia and/or chest pain. Applying the recently proposed criteria of Richter and Castell, 18 subjects (5%) were diagnosed as having DES. Dysphagia was the major complaint (89%), while 44% of patients complained of chest pain and 33% of both symptoms. All patients shared more than 30% simultaneous contractions after wet swallows interspersed with normal peristaltic sequences. Associated manometric findings were repetitive (greater than 3 peaks) contractions (67%), high-amplitude contractions (33%), spontaneous activity (22%), prolonged duration (11%), and lower esophageal sphincter abnormalities (5%). Radiology disclosed significant abnormalities in only 27% of DES patients.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Motilità Intestinale, Cattedra di Gastroenterologia, Università di Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bassotti
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015155:Esophageal Spasm, Diffuse / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry; D008875:Middle Aged