Achalasia: diagnostic delay and manometric characteristics with high-resolution solid-state and perfusion equipment.

Introduction: the early diagnosis of achalasia requires a high degree of clinical suspicion, and delays in diagnosis are frequent. High-resolution esophageal manometry (HRM) is the gold standard for its diagnostic confirmation. There are two HRM systems, perfusion and solid-state, which allow its classification into three subtypes: I, or classical; II, or with pan-esophageal pressurization; and III, or spastic.

Objective: to determine the clinical and manometric characteristics of the three subtypes with high-resolution perfusion and solid-state equipment and the time of evolution until diagnosis.

Methods: this was a multicenter, observational, retrospective study of patients from the INTEGRA database of the Spanish Association of Neurogastroenterology and Motility who were diagnosed with primary achalasia confirmed by HRM, who fell under the Chicago Classification v3.0, and who had not been treated.

Results: the study included 110 patients (subtype I, n = 14; subtype II, n = 73; subtype III, n = 23). The HRM equipment was perfusion for 49 and solid-state for 61. The mean age was 61.8 ± 14 years (age range 44-81), the age was lower in subtype II, and sex distribution was similar. The time of clinical evolution until diagnosis was > 12 months (51.6 %), subtype II being the one that was diagnosed earlier and the most often (66.3 %). Dysphagia was the most frequent symptom (90.5 %). According to the comparative analysis by high-resolution perfusion and solid-state esophageal manometry equipment, the baseline pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter was higher in the solid-state esophagus, but the difference was not statistically significant. The median integrated relaxation pressure at four seconds (IRP4) was similar (21 mmHg) between the perfusion and solid-state measurements. We describe the ranges of IRP4 in achalasia patients with both systems and confirm the possibility of achalasia even when IRP4 is within the normal range.

Conclusions: achalasia in our environment has a significant diagnostic delay. No significant differences were observed in the esophagogastric junction between the two groups diagnosed with perfusion and solid-state equipment.