Ineffective esophageal motility is associated with acute rejection after lung transplantation independent of gastroesophageal reflux

BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux is associated with poorer outcomes after lung transplant,likely through recurrent aspiration and allograft injury.Although prior studies have demonstrated a relationship between impedance-pH results and transplant outcomes,the role of esophageal manometry in the assessment of lung transplant patients remains debated,and the impact of esophageal dysmotility on transplant outcomes is unclear.Of particular interest is ineffective esophageal motility(IEM)and its associated impact on esophageal clearance.AIM To assess the relationship between pre-transplant IEM diagnosis and acute rejection after lung transplantation.METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of lung transplant recipients at a tertiary care center between 2007 and 2018.Patients with pre-transplant anti-reflux surgery were excluded.Manometric and reflux diagnoses were recorded from pre-transplant esophageal function testing.Time-to-event analysis using Cox proportional hazards model was applied to evaluate outcome of first episode of acute cellular rejection,defined histologically per International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation guidelines.Subjects not meeting this endpoint were censored at time of post-transplant anti-reflux surgery,last clinic visit,or death.Fisher’s exact test for binary variables and student’s t-test for continuous variables were performed to assess for differences between groups.RESULTS Of 184 subjects(54%men,mean age:58,follow-up:443 person-years)met criteria for inclusion.Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis represented the predominant pulmonary diagnosis(41%).During the follow-up period,60 subjects(33.5%)developed acute rejection.The all-cause mortality was 16.3%.Time-to-event univariate analyses demonstrated significant association between IEM and acute rejection[hazard ratio(HR):1.984,95%CI:1.03-3.30,P=0.04],confirmed on Kaplan-Meier curve.On multivariable analysis,IEM remained independently associated with acute rejection,even after controlling for potential confounders such as the presence of acid and nonacid reflux(HR:2.20,95%CI:1.18-4.11,P=0.01).Nonacid reflux was also independently associated with acute rejection on both univariate(HR:2.16,95%CI:1.26-3.72,P=0.005)and multivariable analyses(HR:2.10,95%CI:1.21-3.64,P=0.009),adjusting for the presence of IEM.CONCLUSION Pre-transplant IEM was associated with acute rejection after transplantation,even after controlling for acid and nonacid reflux.Esophageal motility testing may be considered in lung transplant to predict outcomes.

Is ineffective esophageal motility associated with gastropharyngeal reflux disease?

AIM： TO evaluate the association between IEM and gastropharyngeal reflux disease （GPRD） in patients who underwent ambulatory 24-h dual-probe pH monitoring for the evaluation of supraesophageal symptoms. METHODS： A total of 632 patients who underwent endoscopy, esophageal manometry and ambulatory 24-h dual-pH monitoring due to supraesophageal symptoms （e.g. globus, hoarseness, or cough） were enrolled. Of them, we selected the patients who had normal esophageal motility and IEM. The endoscopy and ambulatory pH monitoring findings were compared between the two groups. RESULTS;： A total of 264 patients with normal esophageal motility and 195 patients with the diagnosis of IEM were included in this study. There was no difference in the frequency of reflux esophagitis and hiatal hernia between the two groups. All the variables showing gastroesophageal reflux and gastropharyngeal reflux were not different between the two groups. The frequency of GERD and GPRD, as defined by ambulatory pH monitoring, was not different between the two groups. CONCLUSION： There was no association between IEM and GPRD as well as between IEM and GERD. IEM alone cannot be considered as a definitive marker for reflux disease.

Ineffective oesophageal motility:Manometric subsets exhibit different symptom profiles

AIM:To compare the demographic and clinical features of different manometric subsets of ineffective oesophageal motility(IOM;defined as ≥ 30% wet swallows with distal contractile amplitude < 30 mmHg) ,and to determine whether the prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux differs between IOM subsets. METHODS:Clinical characteristics of manometric subsets were determined in 100 IOM patients(73 female,median age 58 years) and compared to those of 100 age-and gender-matched patient controls with oesophageal symptoms,but normal manometry. Supine oesophageal manometry was performed with an eight-channel DentSleeve water-perfused catheter,and an ambulatory pH study assessed gastro-oesophageal reflux. RESULTS:Patients in the IOM subset featuring a majority of low-amplitude simultaneous contractions(LASC) experienced less heartburn(prevalence 26%) ,but more dysphagia(57%) than those in the IOM subset featuring low-amplitude propagated contractions(LAP;heartburn 70%,dysphagia 24%;both P ≤ 0.01) . LASC patients also experienced less heartburn and more dysphagia than patient controls(heartburn 68%,dysphagia 11%;both P < 0.001) . The prevalence of heartburn and dysphagia in IOM patients featuring a majority of non-transmitted sequences(NT) was 54%(P = 0.04 vs LASC) and 36%(P < 0.01 vs controls) ,respectively. No differences inage and gender distribution,chest pain prevalence,acid exposure time(AET) and symptom/reflux association existed between IOM subsets,or between subsets and controls. CONCLUSION:IOM patients with LASC exhibit a different symptom profile to those with LAP,but do not differ in gastro-oesophageal reflux prevalence. These findings raise the possibility of different pathophysiological mechanisms in IOM subsets,which warrants further investigation.