End-expiratory pressure best approximates intrinsic lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Report of a patient with Cheyne-Stokes respiration.
Recent studies have shown that the respiratory oscillation inherent in the station pull-through technique of measuring lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure is the result of active diaphragmatic contraction. A recent study in cats suggested that intrinsic LES tone is best reflected by end-expiratory pressure during spontaneous respiration. This finding is confirmed in a patient we report with achalasia and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia who had Cheyne-Stokes breathing. LES pressure during periods of central apnea approximated end-expiratory pressure during periods of hyperpnea.
Department of Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia 65212.
J B
JB
Marshall
W L
WL
Berger
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002639:Cheyne-Stokes Respiration / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004931:Esophageal Achalasia / Q000150:complications; D004943:Esophagogastric Junction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry; D011312:Pressure; D012119:Respiration; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*