Ultrasonographic measurement of the thickness of cervical oesophagus layers in the reflux oesophagitis: Association with clinical findings

Abstract

Introduction We aimed to evaluate the oesophagus of patients with reflux oesophagitis using ultrasonography and sought associations between the measurements of the mucosa, submucosa and muscularis propria, and endoscopic and clinical findings. Methods Thirty‐nine patients with endoscopically proven reflux oesophagitis and 19 patients with negative endoscopy for oesophagitis were included in the study. Two radiologists assessed the cervical oesophagus at the level of the thyroid gland. The data belonging to the ultrasonographic assessment of the patient group were compared to those of the controls. Results The muscular, submucosal and mucosal thicknesses of the cervical oesophagus measured by two observers significantly differed between the patient and control groups. The P‐values for mucosa, submucosa and muscularis propria were .02, <.001 and <.001, respectively for observer 1, .004, .001 and <.001, respectively for observer 2. The regression analysis showed that among the symptoms of heartburn, regurgitation and dysphagia, heartburn was independently associated with decreased mucosal and submucosal thicknesses of the oesophagus. Discussion Our findings confirmed that the layers of oesophagus in the gastroesophageal reflux disease were thicker compared to those of healthy people. We also found that heartburn was associated with decreased thicknesses of mucosal and submucosal layers in patients.