Additional Diagnostic Yield of Ambulatory 24-h High Resolution Manometry With Impedance in Patients With Non-Cardiac Chest Pain or Non-Obstructive Dysphagia.

Background: In patients with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) and non-obstructive dysphagia (NOD), standard esophageal high resolution manometry (HRM) with water swallows and/or solid meals may miss intermittent dysmotility. To what extent prolonged 24 h-measurements may increase the diagnostic sensitivity is currently unclear.

Methods: 75 patients (47 female, 58 ± 16 years) with NCCP and/or NOD underwent standard HRM (single water swallows plus rice meal) and ambulatory 24-h-HRM with impedance. Results were analyzed according to Chicago Classification v3.0 for water-swallow-HRM; adapted criteria were used for rice-meal and 24-h-HRM. Patients were followed by chart review.

Key Results: Contractility parameters obtained by different HRM procedures always correlated (R > 0.27, p < 0.05). During 24 h-measurements, all parameters showed circadian variability (p < 0.001). In comparison with water-swallow-HRM, rice-meal-HRM markedly increased the proportion of patients diagnosed with achalasia III, esophagogastric outlet obstruction with spastic features, distal esophageal spasm, or hypercontractility (10.7% vs. 21.3%, p = 0.039). The diagnostic gain regarding spastic and/or hypercontractile disorders was further increased by 24-h-HRM (61.3% of patients, p < 0.001). In 11 out of 21 patients with normal results in both water-swallow- and rice-meal-HRM (15% of total cohort), 24-h-HRM detected a major motor disorder. Results of 24-h-HRM altered treatment recommendations in 41 patients (54%).

Conclusions&inferences: 24-h-HRM revealed spastic and/or hypercontractile esophageal motor disorders in about 60% of patients with NCCP/NOD and markedly improved diagnostic yield compared with standard HRM, probably partly due to the observed circadian variability of esophageal motility. 24-h-HRM findings frequently altered treatment recommendations, but the ultimate clinical consequences of the increased diagnostic yield have to be examined further.