Comparison of Patients’ Characteristics Between Recurrent and Treatment-naive Achalasia Patientsa
| Variables | Failure of BD (n = 344) | Failure of HM (n = 48) | Treatment-naive (n = 1580) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (male) | 163 (47.4%) | 24 (50.0%) | 800 (50.6%) | 0.760 | 0.285 | 1.000 |
| Age at onset (≥ 40 yr) | 163 (47.4%) | 8 (16.7%) | 792 (50.1%) | < 0.001 | 0.372 | < 0.001 |
| Age at presentation (≥ 65 yr) | 90 (26.2%) | 19 (39.6%) | 324 (20.5%) | 0.059 | 0.025 | 0.003 |
| Disease duration (≥ 10 yr) | 145 (42.2%) | 43 (89.6%) | 369 (23.4%) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| BMI (≥ 25 kg/m2) | 55 (16.0%) | 10 (20.8%) | 236 (14.9%) | 0.408 | 0.619 | 0.303 |
| Type I achalasia | 245 (71.2%) | 39 (81.2%) | 937 (59.3%) | 0.169 | < 0.001 | 0.002 |
| IRP (< 26 mmHg) | 228 (66.3%) | 40 (83.3%) | 675 (42.7%) | 0.020 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| Calcium channel blocker use | 26 (19.3%) | 4 (22.2%) | 81 (11.7%) | 0.756 | 0.024 | 0.256 |
| Nitrite use | 6 (4.4%) | 0 (0.0%) | 20 (2.9%) | 1.000 | 0.415 | 1.000 |
| Esophageal dilation (≥ II) | 214 (62.2%) | 28 (58.3%) | 945 (59.8%) | 0.636 | 0.430 | 0.882 |
| Type of achalasia (sigmoid) | 91 (26.5%) | 20 (41.7%) | 263 (16.6%) | 0.039 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
aRecurrent cases are defined as patients having Eckardt score ≥ 4 after achalasia interventions, and patient characteristics are compared between these patients and treatment-naive patients having Eckardt score ≥ 4.
Esophageal dilation: the grade of esophageal dilation based on maximum transverse diameter (d) using barium esophagogram. Grade I: d < 3.5 cm, grade II: 3.5 cm ≤ d < 6.0 cm, grade III: d ≥ 6.0 cm. Calcium channel blocker use and nitrite use are analyzed in 845 patients and 841 patients, respectively.
BD, balloon dilatation; HM, Heller myotomy; BMI, body mass index; IRP, integrated relaxation pressure.