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Abstract
Background
Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) can successfully treat patients with achalasia.
Prior therapy with Botox injections, pneumatic dilation (PD), and/or laparoscopic
heller myotomy (LHM) is thought to increase the difficulty of POEM procedures. We
aimed to determine if prior treatment methods were associated with longer procedure
times or lower clinical success.
Methods
Single center retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent POEM for achalasia
between February 2017 to September 2021. Data collected included patient demographics,
prior treatment, pre- and post-procedure Eckardt score (ES), distensibility indices
(DI), and procedure times. Primary outcomes were clinical success and procedure difficulty.
Results
A total of 95 patients (mean age 55.6 years, 45% female) underwent POEM for Type I
achalasia (25), Type II achalasia (31), and spastic esophageal pathologies (33). 33
(34.7%) patients were treated for achalasia prior to the POEM with Botox injections
(n=18), PD (n=17), and LHM (n=3). There was no significant difference in post-ES or
technical success between these two groups (p=0.98 and p=0.66). Multivariate analysis
showed that prior treatment was associated with decreased case time and easier tunneling
during the POEM.
Conclusion
Prior treatment did not impact POEM clinical success rate and led to decreased case
times and easier tunneling difficulty, likely due to persistent LES changes and differences
in diagnostic indications. POEM should be considered for patients with treatment-refractory
symptoms as a safe and feasible option. Further large scale studies are needed to
validate our findings.
Abbreviations:
(POEM) (per oral endoscopic myotomy), (LES) (lower esophageal sphincter), (PD) (pneumatic dilation), (LHM) (laparoscopic heller myotomy), (FLIP) (functional lumen imaging probe, topography), (ES) (Eckardt score), (DI) (Distensibility Index), (TPL) (tunnel and myotomy time per length)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 29,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 18,
2023
Received:
October 19,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofFootnotes
Conflict of interest statement: Raymond E Kim is a consultant for Medtronic, Cook Medical and Apollo Endosurgery. All other authors have no potential conflicts (financial, professional, or personal) that are relevant to the content presented in this manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
