Purpose: To describe timed barium esophagogram (TBE) characteristics in patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic achalasia, and to correlate these with clinical and manometric variables.
Material and Methods: Forty-six consecutive patients with newly diagnosed achalasia were examined with TBE. Esophageal emptying was assessed using the height, area, and volume of the barium column. Subjective evaluation was performed according to a standardized protocol in all patients. Objective diagnostic evaluation included manometry.
Results: At the 1-min time point after contrast ingestion, the static parameters median height, maximum, and mean width of the barium column were 16.0, 4.4, and 3.3 cm, respectively. Emptying, expressed as volume of barium, showed significant inverse correlation with the resting and the maximal relaxing pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) (R = −0.34 and R = −0.54, respectively). There was also an inverse correlation between emptied volume at TBE and the duration of symptoms (R = −0.36), and between barium column width and postprandial chest pain (R = −0.44).
Conclusion: All patients with newly diagnosed achalasia presented with delayed emptying of barium the esophagus at TBE. The estimated emptied volume of barium (related to the ingested volume) correlated inversely with the basal tone and the relaxation pressure of the LES. Including estimation of the volume of emptied barium at TBE resulted in closer correlation with manometric values of LES tone than using the parameters traditionally recorded.
