Esophageal Involvement and Determinants of Perception of Esophageal Symptoms Among South Koreans With Systemic Sclerosis

Background/Aims@#Our study aims to characterize esophageal motor function; evaluate the relationships among esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), high-resolution manometry (HRM), and 24-hour esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance monitoring combined with pHmetry (MII-pH); and elucidate the determinants of esophageal symptom perception in South Koreans with systemic sclerosis (SSc). @*Methods@#We reviewed prospectively collected HRM (n = 46), EGD (n = 41), and MII-pH (n = 37) data from 46 consecutive patients with SSc (42 females; mean age 50.1 years) who underwent esophageal tests between June 2013 and September 2018. @*Results@#The most common HRM diagnosis was normal (39.1%), followed by ineffective esophageal motility (23.9%) and absent contractility (21.7%). Erosive esophagitis was observed in 12.2% of total SSc patients, with a higher frequency in patients with absent contractility than those with normal motility (44.5% vs 0.0%, P = 0.01). Pathologic acid exposure was observed in 6 patients (20.0%) and positive symptom association in 18 patients (60.0%) in MII-pH tests of symptomatic patients. The proportion of SSc patients with esophageal symptoms not explained by reflux or mucosal or motor esophageal abnormalities was 33.0%. @*Conclusions@#Esophageal involvement among South Koreans with SSc was characterized by heterogeneous motility patterns, with a higher prevalence of normal motility and lower prevalence of erosive esophagitis. Reflux hypersensitivity or functional heartburn might be partly attributed to the perception of esophageal symptoms in SSc patients who have neither gastroesophageal reflux disease nor esophageal dysmotility.

The New Cutoff Value of the Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient on Predicting Long-Term Survival in Cirrhotic Patients

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the prognostic role of the categorized hemodynamic stage (HS) based on the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) in patients with portal hypertension. METHODS: Of 1,025 cirrhotic patients who underwent HVPG measurement, data on 572 non-critically-ill patients were collected retrospectively between 2008 and 2013. The following two HS categorizations were used: HS-1 (6–9, 10–12, 13–16, 17–20, and > 20 mmHg; designated as groups 1–5, respectively) and HS-2 (6–12, 13–20, and > 20 mmHg). Clinical characteristics, mortality rates, and prognostic predictors were analyzed according to the categorized HS. RESULTS: During the mean follow-up period of 25 months, 86 (15.0%) patients died. The numbers of deaths in HS-1 groups were 7 (6.3%), 7 (6.9%), 30 (18.0%), 20 (15.6%), and 22 (34.4%), respectively (P 20 mmHg; HR, 5.45) and intermediate model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score (HVPG, 13–20 mmHg; HR, 3.86 and HVPG > 20 mmHg; HR, 8.77; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Categorizing HVPG values according to HS-2 is a useful prognostic modality in patients with portal hypertension and can play an independent role in predicting the prognosis in patients with hypoalbuminemia and an intermediate MELD score.