The effect of healing oesophagitis on oesophageal motor function as determined by oesophageal scintigraphy and ambulatory oesophageal motility/pH monitoring.

BACKGROUND

Oesophagitis has been shown by standard manometry to be associated with impaired oesophageal motility, but it remains unclear if this abnormality improves with healing of oesophagitis.

AIM

To determine if healing of oesophagitis improves oesophageal motility using solid bolus oesophageal transit scintigraphy and combined ambulatory oesophageal motility/pH monitoring.

METHODS

Patients with grade II-III oesophagitis underwent ambulatory motility/pH monitoring (using a Konigsberg catheter with four pressure transducers at 5 cm intervals) and solid bolus scintigraphy before and after treatment with omeprazole 20 mg b.d. for 8-14 weeks.

RESULTS

Three (11%) of the 28 patients failed to heal. Initial scintigraphy was abnormal in 18 (67%) of 27 patients (one refused scintigraphy). Twenty-three of the 25 healed patients had repeat studies showing no significant change in the number which were abnormal (16 (64%), P = 1.0) or the overall oesophageal transit time (P = 0.65). Due to intolerance of the technique, only 11 patients had ambulatory motility/pH performed both before and after healing, giving the study 90% power to detect a 5 mmHg increase in peristaltic amplitude. No significant improvement was seen in any motility or pH parameter after healing of oesophagitis.

CONCLUSION

Analysis of oesophageal motility showed no improvement in peristaltic activity after healing of oesophagitis, suggesting that the abnormal motility is either a primary disorder or an irreversible consequence of mucosal damage.