title: Clinical value of esophageal motility testing.
abstract: Esophageal motility testing is the method of choice in evaluating esophageal motor disorders. Some physicians, however, question the clinical utility of esophageal motility testing, since the results are often normal in symptomatic patients. The clinical utility of esophageal motility testing is reviewed for patients with a complaint of noncardiac chest pain, dysphagia or symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Esophageal motility testing is particularly useful for evaluating patients with dysphagia, but less so for gastroesophageal reflux disease patients, and has little clinical utility in patients with noncardiac chest pain.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa., USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: DiMarino
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lynn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zamani
mesh_terms: D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D015154:Esophageal Motility Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000502:physiology; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000175:diagnosis; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry