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Query: UMLS:C0010200 (cough)
 23,843 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Achalasia is a rare disorder of the esophagus in children. From 1971 to 1999, 20 children with achalasia of the esophagus have been treated at our institution including two patients who were referred to us after esophagomyotomy. There were 13 boys and 7 girls (average age, 8.2 years; range 2 to 15 years). Presenting symptoms were vomiting (n = 18), dysphagia (n = 11), loss of weight (n = 5), recurrent respiratory infections (n = 3), cough (n = 2) and noisy respiration (n = 1). Barium swallow established diagnosis in all patients. Esophagoscopy was used as a supportive investigation in some patients (n = 10). Nineteen patients underwent Heller-Zaiger operation (modified Heller esophagomyotomy) either by transabdominal (n = 16) or transthoracic approach (n = 3) with (n = 6) or without concomitant antireflux procedure. The postoperative period was uneventful in all patients. Follow-up ranged from 2 months to 16 years. Decreased or absent peristalsis persisted in initial control esophagograms in all patients. Gastroesophageal reflux was encountered in only one patient. Complete relief of symptoms was noted in 14 patients. Mild to moderate dysphagia was encountered in 5 patients and all of them were evaluated by endoscopy and upper gastrointestinal series. Dysphagia resolved spontaneously in one child and following two dilations in another child. One child has moderate dysphagia after a short follow-up period. Esophageal stenosis was seen in the remaining two and subsequently treated by esophagocardioplasty (Heyrowsky and Wendel operations). Achalasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis in any children with persistent dysphagia, recurrent respiratory tract infections and vomiting, including children treated for clinically suspected gastroesophageal reflux. The obvious mode of treatment is surgical myotomy in children. Modified Heller esophagomyotomy is the procedure of choice, which can be performed either by an abdominal or a thoracic approach. The need to carry out a concomitant antireflux procedure remains controversial. The most frequent postoperative problem is persistent dysphagia. It may be self-limited in some cases and disappear during follow-up. Resistant stenosis following esophagocardiomyotomy can be treated by esophagocardioplasty procedures such as Heyrowsky and Wendel operations.
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PMID:Achalasia in childhood: surgical treatment and outcome. 1155 10

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and esophageal achalasia are common benign esophageal diseases. Today minimally invasive surgery is recommended to treat these diseases. Surgical indications for GERD are failure of medical management, medical complications attributable to a large hiatal hernia, 'atypical' symptoms (asthma, hoarseness, cough, chest pain, aspiration), etc. according to the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) guidelines. Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication has emerged as the most widely accepted procedure for GERD patients with normal esophageal motility. Partial fundoplication (e.g., Toupet fundoplication) is also considered to decrease the possibility of postoperative dysphagia. Although pneumatic dilatation has been the first line treatment for esophageal achalasia, laparoscopic Heller myotomy and partial fundoplication (e.g., Dor fundoplication) to prevent reflux is preferred by most gastroenterologists and surgeons as the primary treatment modality. Laparoscopic surgery for GERD and esophageal achalasia are effective in most patients and safe in all patients. Finally, laparoscopic surgery should be performed only by skilled surgeons.
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PMID:[Endoscopic surgery for benign esophageal diseases]. 1691 May 31

Achalasia is a primary esophageal motor disorder that results in poor clearance of the esophagus. Although an esophagus filled with debris and undigested food should put these patients at risk for aspiration, the frequency with which the latter occurs has never been documented. In this study, we sought to determine the incidence of respiratory symptoms and complaints in patients with achalasia. A comprehensive symptom questionnaire was administered to 110 patients with achalasia presenting to the Swallowing Center at the University of Washington between 1994 and 2008 as part of their preoperative work-up. Questionnaires were analyzed for the frequency of respiratory complaints in addition to the more typical symptoms of dysphagia, regurgitation, and chest pain. Twenty-two achalasia patients with respiratory symptoms who had also undergone Heller myotomy and completed a post-op follow-up questionnaire were analyzed as a subset. Ninety-five patients (86%) complained of at least daily dysphagia. Fifty-one patients (40%) reported the occurrence of at least one respiratory symptom daily, including cough in 41 patients (37%), aspiration (the sensation of inhaling regurgitated esophagogastric material) in 34 patients (31%), hoarseness in 23 patients (21%), wheezing in 17 patients (15%), shortness of breath in 11 patients (10%), and sore throat in 13 patients (12%). Neither age nor gender differed between those with and those without respiratory symptoms. In the subset of patients with respiratory symptoms who had undergone Heller myotomy, respiratory symptoms improved in the majority after the procedure. Patients with achalasia experience respiratory symptoms with much greater frequency than the approximately 10% that was previously believed. Awareness of this association may be important in the workup and ultimate treatment of patients with this uncommon esophageal disorder.
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PMID:Prevalence of respiratory symptoms in patients with achalasia. 2107 19

A 59 years old woman was admitted in our unit accusing longtime dysphagia and regurgitation. On admission, the patient was wearing a 3 month old definitive feeding gastrostomy tube. The contrast swallow, endoscopy and esophageal manometry established the diagnostic--achalasia. We removed the gastrostomy tube and we performed an open Heller myotomy. The postoperative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged one week later with affirmatively unimpaired deglutition. One month later, the patient was admitted via emergency with a giant fibrous tumor arising from her mouth after an episode of strong coughing and vomiting. The repeated endoscopy showed a giant esophageal polyp that was missed by the previous investigations, originating from pharingoesophageal junction. The esophageal polyp was resected by cervical approach with good postoperative outcome. The polyp's particular extreme dimensions (27 cm) prevented the acute asphyxia by blockage at the laryngeal level, possibly provoked by smaller tumors. As postoperative one month barium swallow showed a normal esophageal aspect, a final question remains--was achalasia real or an erroneous diagnosis was established the second time too?
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PMID:Giant fibrovascular esophageal polyp misdiagnosed as achalasia. 2302 20

Achalasia is characterized by incomplete lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation and aperistalsis of the oesophagus. It may present with dyspnea symptom. An 18-years-old male patient applied to a clinic with the complaints of cough, dyspnea, wheezing and diagnosed as asthma. Although his asthma treatment was increased in time while he did not recover, he was reffered to our hospital with the diagnosis of uncontrolled asthma. On chest X-ray there was a mild upper mediastinal enlargement and chest computed tomography revealed an over-dilated oesophagus constricting the trachea. The patient was referred to chest surgery clinic with a suspected diagnosis of achalasia. Barium-oesophagogram and endoscopic evaluation of the oesophagus confirmed the diagnosis of achalasia. The patient underwent Heller myotomy and oesophagogastrostomy. He was recovered in one week after the surgery without any complaint of dyspnea. Spirometry tests and chest X-ray resulted normal in one year. With this case of achalasia who used asthma treatment unnecessarily,we wanted to emphasize the importance of differential diagnosis of difficult asthma.
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PMID:Oesophageal achalasia misdiagnosed as uncontrolled asthma. 2387 93

Heller myotomy provides durable and effective treatment of achalasia. Due to recurrence or persistence of symptoms, a small subset of patients seeks reoperation. This study was undertaken to determine if reoperative Heller myotomy provides salutary amelioration of symptoms. 609 patients undergoing laparoscopic Heller myotomy between 1992 to 2013 were prospectively followed; 38 underwent reoperative myotomy. Patients graded their symptom frequency and severity before and after myotomy on a Likert scale. Median data are reported. Patients undergoing reoperative myotomy, when compared to those undergoing their first myotomy, experienced a higher conversion rate to an "open" myotomy (8% vs 1%, P < 0.05) and a longer length of stay (3 vs 1 day, P < 0.05). Reoperative myotomy led to improvement in symptoms, but the magnitude of improvement in symptoms (e.g., dysphagia, choking, and coughing) was less than for patients undergoing their first myotomy (all P < 0.05). Patients undergoing reoperative Heller myotomy were less likely to report symptoms occurring once per month or less (83% vs 56%, P < 0.01). Patients undergoing reoperative myotomy note improvement in symptoms, although to a lesser extent than patients undergoing their first myotomy. Patients undergoing reoperative Heller myotomy can expect to experience less improvement of symptoms, denoting the importance of the first myotomy.
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PMID:Reoperative Heller myotomy: more pain, less gain. 2603 Dec 80

Introduction The aim of this study was to review a single institution's experience with surgical interventions in children with achalasia and to determine treatment strategies for this rare disorder. Patients and methods This study is a retrospective analysis of 22 cases of childhood achalasia from 1991 to 2013. The patients were evaluated in terms of age, symptoms, interventions, intraoperative complications, and recurrent dysphagia. Results There were 13 boys and nine girls (7 months to 17 years old). The clinical symptoms were vomiting (68%), dysphagia (36%), wheezing (18%), coughing (13%), and weight-loss (13%). The mean duration of symptoms was 2.4 years (1 month to 6 years). A barium contrast X-ray study was performed in all of the patients. Oesophageal manometry was performed in eight patients. Six patients underwent multiple oesophageal dilatations (ED) as a first intervention. A Heller myotomy (HM) and fundoplication were performed in all the patients except two patients who recovered with dilatation. In the long term, one patient had a stricture due to the operation and had to undergo a reoperation. Of the Heller myotomy patients, one had a recurrent stricture that responded to dilatation. No other complications were present. All the patients are now asymptomatic. Conclusion Early diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment is important to prevent growth impairment in childhood achalasia cases. A Heller myotomy followed by a partial anti-reflux procedure is an effective treatment for achalasia in children. Based on our experience, it is superior to oesophageal dilatation therapy.
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PMID:Early myotomy and fundoplication in achalasia in childhood: a single-centre experience for 22 years. 2738 35