[Sequential esophageal scintigraphy contribution on cardia achalasia diagnosis]

Achalasia is a mortality disorder described in 1674 by Willis. It has a small incidence in the general population. The main symptom is dysphagia. The golden standard for diagnosis is esophageal manometry. Esophageal scintigraphy is a non-invasive method of exploration: the technique is simple, it lasts five minutes and is more sensitive than the radiologic exam. The esophageal scintigraphy was made in the Nuclear Medicine Laboratory of the Sf. Spiridon Hospital using a gamma scann Diacam--Siemens. The parameters measured with esophageal scintigraphy are: esophageal transit time, residuary radioactivity. Our study included a number of 37 patients with achalasia with ages between 16 and 80 years (the average--47, 3 years). Our conclusions are the same with the data from literature.