LAUSR

Because it offers real-time assessment, barium esophagram should be the modality of choice when studying esophageal peristalsis. However, no standard reporting method is available for BE results. Presently, peristaltic disorders are defined according to high-resolution manometry (HRM), but HRM findings do not correlate with clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to stratify esophageal peristaltic function via standardized evaluation of BE, and to define the association between esophageal peristalsis and dysphagia and regurgitation. After IRB approval, a prospectively maintained database was reviewed for patients who underwent both HRM and BE from 08/01/2016 to 12/31/2019. Patients with conditions associated with outflow impairment were excluded. BEs were re-examined in blinded fashion and assigned subjective scores (0, 1, or 2) for dilation grade (DG) and contractility grade (CG). Patients were categorized according to the sum of the DG and CG: Group A = 0, Group B = 1–2, and Group C = 3–4. Mean distal contractile integral (DCI), number of failed contractions on HRM, and number of patients with dysphagia/regurgitation in each group were analyzed and compared. In all, 124 patients were included. The mean DCI (mmHg*cm*s) was 2539.1 ± 1357.8 in Group A, 884.4 ± 916.9 in Group B, and 77.4 ± 192.3 in Group C (p < 0.001). The mean number of failed contractions were 0.7 ± 1.3, 3.4 ± 3.4, and 8.6 ± 3.2, respectively (p < 0.001). Table 1 shows the distribution of patients with dysphagia or regurgitation across groups. The proportion of patients with dysphagia in Group C was higher than in Groups A or B (OR 3.75, p = 0.02; and OR 2.58, p = 0.07, respectively). Similarly, Group C was significantly more often associated with regurgitation than in Groups A or B (OR 4.69, p = 0.009; and OR 4.42, p = 0.005). The combined DG and CG allowed us to identify the patients with a grade of peristaltic disfunction that was significantly more associated with dysphagia or regurgitation (Group C). However, in order to achieve a clearer definition of the different peristaltic disfunction levels according to their propensity to cause dysphagia or regurgitation, a more objective assessment of both DG and CG should be provided; therefore, further studies are required.