The diagnostic value of oesophageal radionuclide transit in patients admitted for but without acute myocardial infarction.
The use of radionuclide transit (RT) as a screening test for chest pain of oesophageal origin has been debated. The aim of this study was to determine the value of RT as a screening test for oesophageal disorders in comparison with oesophageal manometry in patients admitted with acute chest pain but without acute myocardial infarction (non-AMI patients), and to assess the frequency of oesophageal disease present in these patients. A total of 222 non-AMI patients entered the study. An extensive examination programme comprised noninvasive cardiac studies, pulmonary studies, a careful physical examination of the musculoskeletal system, and oesophago-gastric examinations including endoscopy, pH monitoring of the oesophagus and a Bernstein test. In 91% of the patients one or more diagnoses were obtained. Based on clinical and laboratory data a 'consensus' diagnosis was made. With manometry as the reference RT had a poor sensitivity (35%) but an acceptable specificity (82%). With the consensus diagnosis as the gold standard the sensitivities of both manometry and RT were poor (29%), whereas the specificity of RT, but not of manometry, was very high (97%). Gastrointestinal diagnoses were found in 57% of the patients. In conclusion, none of the applied oesophageal examinations are valuable as single screening tests. Both RT and manometry have low sensitivities. RT may be used as a cheap, noninvasive and rapid supplementary examination. When positive, it strongly supports further invasive studies of the oesophagus in non-AMI patients with unexplained chest pain.
Jørgensen
F
F
Department of Clinical Physiology, County Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark.
Fruergaard
P
P
Launbjerg
J
J
Aggestrup
S
S
Elsborg
L
L
Hesse
B
B
D002637:Chest Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000592:standards; D015154:Esophageal Motility Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008365:Manometry / Q000592:standards; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity