Esophageal Motility in Children With Hirschsprung's Disease

Motility of the oesophagus and small bowel in adults treated for Hirschsprung’s disease during early childhood

“…The patients in this study had normal oesophageal motility, both according to the manometry findings and the splash test. This is in contrast to previous studies in children, 15,16 in which abnormalities were reported. The conflicting results may have been influenced by the difficulties of performing a study of oesophageal manometry in small children and siblings.…”

“…Neuronal alterations in the upper gut of patients with HD would indicate a more widespread distribution of the disease and could be of pathophysiological importance for the persistent mild‐to‐moderate gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms experienced by these patients throughout adolescence and adult life 11–14 . Correspondingly, children with HD might have abnormalities in the motility of the upper GI tract 15–18 and autonomic nervous system 19 . However, limited data are available on this issue and studies are needed to reveal whether possible abnormalities of upper GI motility persist into adult life.…”