Cricopharyngeal Achalasia: Management and Associated Outcomes—A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objective

There is little consensus regarding the efficacy and safety of treatment options for cricopharyngeal (CP) achalasia. The purpose of this scoping review is to assess the literature regarding the various treatments for this disease.

Data Sources

PubMed was searched for all articles addressing treatment of adult CP achalasia between January 1990 and June 2019.

Review Methods

In total, 351 peer-reviewed results were reviewed by 3 otolaryngologists for inclusion. After review of titles, abstracts, and full texts, 60 articles were selected.

Results

Among included studies, 55% were retrospective and 45% were prospective. Forty-five percent of studies were case series. CP achalasia etiologies included idiopathic (28%), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (28%), neurologic disease (17%), head and neck radiation treatment (11%), Zenker’s diverticulum (10%), and myositis (5%). Most commonly employed treatments were botulinum toxin injection (40%), endoscopic CP myotomy (30%), dilation with either balloon or bougie (25%), and open CP myotomy (15%). A proportion of patients were treated with more than 1 approach. Most studies included both subjective and objective outcome measures. Complications were reported most often in patients with a history of head and neck radiation.

Conclusions

Small sample sizes and heterogeneity of causes and treatments of CP achalasia, as well as short duration of follow-up, make it challenging to assess the superiority of one treatment over another. There is a need for a prospective study that more directly compares outcomes of administration of botulinum toxin, dilation, and CP myotomy in patients with CP achalasia of similar etiologies.