[Manometric study of esophageal involvement in progressive systemic sclerosis (author's transl)]

In 15 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis esophageal function was examined radiologically and by manometry. Only one third of the patients had experienced dysphagia, while radiologically esophageal motility was abnormal in 8 patients (55%) and by manometry even in 11 patients (73%). Therefore the absence of symptoms does not exclude extensive involvement of the esophagus. Furthermore the manometric results indicate that involvement of the esophagus in the edematous-indurative stage of scleroderma should be suspected more frequently than assumed generally on the base of radiological studies alone.