The Clinical Utility of Esophageal Manometry

Clinical utility of gastric emptying scintigraphy: Patient and physician perspectives

“…Because both groups received treatments, it is possible that the results seen may have been due to either placebo effects or effects on intention‐to‐treat that were unable to be measured without having a control group that did not undergo GES. Finally, the questionnaire used to gauge ordering physician perceptions, while previously used by others, has not been formally validated and is at risk of subjective bias. In particular, physician response may be biased as they might not admit to ordering a test unless they felt that the results, whether normal or abnormal, would yield worthwhile information.…”

“…Clinical management during the follow‐up period was directed by the patient's provider and was not standardized. Finally, the ordering physician was sent a brief survey 2‐weeks after GES consisting of three questions requesting information of their perceptions on whether GES provided them with new information (yes/no), led to a change in diagnosis (yes/no), or resulted in a change in management (yes/no) . If the second and third questions were answered affirmatively, the physicians were asked to provide more specific information on how the diagnosis (identified delayed, rapid or normal gastric emptying, other) or management (changed to new medication, avoided a medication, stopped a medication, added a new medication, other) changed by listing a number of options including a free text option.…”

The role of ambulatory 24‐hour esophageal manometry in clinical practice

“…Esophageal manometry was first introduced in 1883 by Kronecker et al 1 Today, high‐resolution manometry (HRM) is the primary method used to evaluate esophageal motor function, incorporating up to 36 pressure sensors, spaced 1 cm apart along a catheter. HRM with pressure topography has improved our ability to study esophageal motility and visualize both peristaltic and sphincter functions 2,3 . The advent of HRM has led to a change in the classification of esophageal motor disorders; the Chicago Classification (CC) was introduced in 2009 to define and characterize major, hypercontractile, and minor motility disorders 4 …”