Esophageal Symptoms and Lumbosacral Back Pain.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Esophageal symptoms, that is, heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia, and chest pain are common in the general population. Also common are symptoms of back pain related to pathology in the lumbosacral spine. The right crus of the diaphragm that forms the esophageal hiatus, originates from lumbar spine, may be affected by lumbar spine pathology resulting in esophageal symptoms. We studied whether there was an association between esophageal symptoms and spine symptoms. METHODS: Two patient groups of 150 each were investigated: group 1 (ES); patients referred to the esophageal manometry study for assessment of esophageal symptoms, group 2 (SC); patients undergoing screening colonoscopy (control group). Both groups completed standardized questionnaires assessing esophageal and spine symptoms. RESULTS: Back pain was reported by 74% of patients in the ES group as compared to 55% of patients in the SC group. Thirty percent of patients in the SC group reported one or more esophageal symptoms and these patients were regrouped with the ES group, resulting in 2 groups, ES1 and SC1, with and without esophageal symptoms, respectively. The ES1 group was 3.3 times more likely to experience back pain compared to the SC1 group (95% confidence interval: 1.95-5.46). Thoracolumbar was the most common site of pain in both groups. Pain score was greater for the group with esophageal symptoms compared to controls. Narcotic intake for most patients in the ES1 group was for back pain. CONCLUSION: A strong association between esophageal symptoms and thoracolumbar back pain raises the possibility that structural and functional changes in the esophageal hiatus muscles related to thoracolumbar spine pathology lead to esophageal dysmotility and symptoms.

Esophageal wall compliance/stiffness during peristalsis in patients with functional dysphagia and high-amplitude esophageal contractions.

Recent studies that utilized distension/contraction plots to study peristalsis reveal poor distension of the esophagus in patients with functional dysphagia and high-amplitude contractions [high-amplitude esophageal contractions (HAECs)] even though the contraction phase of peristalsis is normal in these patients. Our goal was to determine biomechanical properties of the esophageal wall and bolus flow characteristics in patients with functional dysphagia and HAEC during primary peristalsis. Studies were performed on 30 healthy subjects, 30 patients with functional dysphagia, and 25 patients with HAEC. Subjects swallowed 10 mL, 0.5 N saline bolus in the Trendelenburg position to study primary peristalsis. A custom-built software (Dplots) determined peak distension from the impedance measurements, pressure at peak distension, wall tension (pressure × radius), wall distensibility [cross-sectional area (CSA)/pressure], and bolus flow (cm3/s) in four segments of esophagus (between upper and lower esophageal sphincter). Luminal CSA of distal esophagus was smaller, and average bolus flow rate was faster in patients with functional dysphagia and HAEC. Esophageal wall distensibility, a measure of esophageal wall compliance was lower and wall tension was higher in the distal esophagus of both patient groups compared with normal subjects. Ultrasound imaging confirmed poor distension of the esophagus. A trend toward greater wall thickness at the peak of distension was found in patients with functional dysphagia compared with normal subjects. A stiffer or noncompliant esophageal wall is the reason for poor distension of the esophagus during primary peristalsis in patients with functional dysphagia and HAEC.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We studied healthy asymptomatic subject, patients with functional dysphagia (FD), and patients with high-amplitude esophageal contractions (HAEC). Our data show that in patients with HAEC and functional dysphagia, luminal distension is smaller (low luminal CSA at peak distension), intraluminal pressure is higher, and liquid bolus travels faster through the esophagus as compared with normal subjects. We conclude that patients with functional dysphagia and HAEC have a stiffer distal esophageal wall during bolus transport related to primary peristalsis.

Bolus flow and biomechanical properties of the esophageal wall during primary esophageal peristalsis: Effects of bolus viscosity and posture.

BACKGROUND: Studies show that intraluminal impedance recordings of the esophagus allow one to measure the luminal distension during peristalsis, an important parameter for calculation of the biomechanical properties of esophageal wall. The goal was to determine the effect of subject posture and bolus viscosity on the biomechanical properties of esophageal wall, and the rate of bolus flow along the length of the esophagus during primary peristalsis. METHODS: High-resolution manometry impedance recordings were obtained in 14 normal healthy subjects. Swallows of 10 ml saline and viscous bolus were recorded in the supine and Trendelenburg positions. User identified the region of interest, and a custom-designed software extracted parameters of interest such as bolus flow rate, esophageal wall tension, and esophageal wall distensibility in four equal segments of the esophagus. KEY RESULTS: Bolus flow rate decreases along the length of the esophagus, being slowest in the distal esophagus. Bolus flow rate is smaller in the Trendelenburg position and with viscous bolus as compared with supine position and saline bolus. Esophageal wall tension is greater in the Trendelenburg position and with viscous bolus as compared with the supine position and saline bolus. The esophageal wall distensibility is larger in the distal as compared with proximal esophagus, which is true for both the saline and viscous bolus. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: We report, for the first time, bolus flow rate and biomechanical properties of the esophageal wall during swallow-induced primary peristalsis. Future studies may investigate biomechanical basis of esophageal motility disorders using the methodology described.