The most important etiologies of achalasia are idiopathic and related to Chagas' disease. The lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) in idiopathic achalasia (Id Ach) is higher compared with a healthy group, but there are different reports in Chagasic achalasia (Ch Ach). We compared the LESP of patients with both forms of achalasia and a control group. The LESP of 213 achalasia patients without previous treatment and 32 healthy volunteers were assessed. In 126 patients, the etiology could be demonstrated using serologic tests (Id Ach, 94 and Ch Ach, 32). The LESP of 213 patients was 31.86+/-14.18 mmHg and in the control group was 17.92+/-7.03 mmHg (P < 0.0001). The LESP in Id Ach and Ch Ach was 33.28+/-13.63 mmHg and 23.5+/-12.09 mmHg (P < 0.0001), respectively. Only the Id Ach group achieved statistical difference in relation to the control group (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, the LESP of Id Ach patients was higher than in Ch Ach patients and the control group, but there was no LESP difference between the Ch Ach and control groups.

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