For patients with primary achalasia the clinical success of pneumatic balloon dilatation can be predicted from the residual fraction of radionuclide during esophageal transit scintigraphy.

Abstract

Esophageal transit scintigraphy (ETS) and esophagography have long been used to evaluate patients with achalasia. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic pneumatic dilatation (EPD) as treatment for Koreans with achalasia and to determine which findings from ETS and esophagography predict successful treatment of achalasia.