[Achalasia or pseudoachalasia? Problems of diagnostic and treatment decisions in two cases]

Patient 1 (female, aged 55 years) had for some time complained of morning nausea. She reported symptoms of reflux with regurgitation of food for two-and-a-half years and also dysphagia with retrosternal bolus obstruction for the last eighteen months. Patient 2 (male, aged 84 years) complained of restrosternal dysphagia with each intake of food for one year, weight loss of 12 kg and occasional regurgitation of food.

The general condition of patient 1 was only slightly impaired but that of patient 2 markedly reduced. Routine laboratory tests were unremarkable in both. Barium meal in patient 1 revealed fixed narrowing in the region of the esophageal hiatus. The inferior esophageal sphincter was closed but opened under pressure during esophagogastroscopy. At computed tomography (CT) of the thorax and abdomen an esophageal fistula was detected and bronchoscopy confirmed its opening into the esophagus. Barium meal in patient 2 (done at another hospital) demonstrated a spastic esophagus. Manometry of the esophagus revealed at rest an abnormal increase in the inferior esophageal sphincter without relaxation.

Patient 1 had an achalasia and an esophagogastric fistula with recurrent aspiration pneumonia, bronchial carcinoma being excluded. The fistula was closed by suture, followed by cardiomyotomy and anterior partial gastric fundectomy. In patient 2 an isolated achalasia had at first been suspected and botulinum toxin injected into the inferior esophageal sphincter. This caused a progressively worse dysphagia. CT of the thorax and abdomen established the diagnosis of a pseudoachalasia due to an adenoma of the cardia, proven by biopsy at an exploratory laparotomy. A stent was implanted in the esophagus: the postoperative course was without complication.

Patient 2 with the pseudoachalasia had a relatively short history of dysphagia, marked weight loss and was elderly. This compares with the history in patient 1: shorter period of dysphagia, no weight loss and a younger age. The differential diagnosis between the two conditions may be difficult with routine methods and other imaging modalities: exploratory surgery may be necessary for a definitive diagnosis.