ESOPHAGEAL MOTOR ABNORMALITIES INDUCED BY ACID PERFUSION IN PATIENTS WITH HEARTBURN*

Abstract

The clinical diagnosis of esophagitis is sug- gested by the presence of severe heartburn which is aggravated by the recumbent position. The symptom is generally worse after eating and is relieved by antacids. It is generally held that in- creased reflux of gastric contents leads to the de- velopment of esophagitis and that the pain is as- sociated with an inflammatory process. In many patients with symptoms that suggest a diagnosis of esophagitis, however, there is, no endoscopic or histologic evidence of inflammation. The poor correlation between the clinical diagnosis of esopha- gitis and the endoscopic and histologic observa- tions led to an investigation of esophageal motor function in these patients.