title: Macroscopic healing of esophagitis does not improve esophageal motility.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to prospectively determine if healing of esophagitis as assessed by endoscopy results in improved esophageal motility. Thirty-one patients with erosive esophagitis who were randomized to receive either omeprazole 20 mg once daily or placebo completed the double-blind study. All patients underwent endoscopy and esophageal motility before treatment and at four weeks after treatment. Twenty-two healthy volunteers underwent esophageal manometry and served as normal controls. Manometric tracings were coded, randomized, and analyzed blindly. Compared to normal controls, patients with esophagitis had significantly lower LESP, decreased amplitude of peristaltic contractions, and increased occurrence of abnormal contractions. Omeprazole was superior to placebo in healing of esophagitis. However, healing of esophagitis was not associated with any improvement in esophageal motility. The manometric data suggest that the motility disturbance seen in esophagitis is not secondary to the esophagitis but rather a primary phenomenon. The lack of improvement of esophageal motility with healing may explain the high recurrence of esophagitis in clinical trials following discontinuation of omeprazole.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Frei
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Flowers
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tilbe
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bondy
mesh_terms: D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009853:Omeprazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010528:Peristalsis / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D009853:Omeprazole