Anal manometric findings in symptomatic hemorrhoids.

Anal manometric findings were studied in 50 patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids and an equal number of age- and sex-matched control subjects. Manometry was performed with a continuously perfused catheter by the continuous pull-through technique. Both the control subjects and patients had significant negative correlations between age and basal pressure; i.e., basal pressure was lower with advancing age. Patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids had significantly higher maximal basal pressure (P less than 0.02) and maximal voluntary contraction pressure (P less than 0.05) as compared to controls. There was no correlation between the anal manometric findings and the degree of hemorrhoids or duration of symptoms. Those patients who had bleeding as the predominant symptom had higher basal pressures; (P less than 0.05) than those who had prolapsing hemorrhoids as the predominant symptom.