Gastroesophageal reflux and transit scintigraphy: a comparison with esophageal biopsy in patients with heartburn

A method for combining scintigraphic studies of esophageal transit and gastroesophageal (GE) reflux is presented. Thirty-two patients with symptoms of GE reflux were studied. The severity of their symptoms was compared to nuclear medicine studies and esophageal mucosal biopsy. Fifteen healthy volunteers were studied as a control group for scintigraphy. The sensitivity of reflux scintigraphy to detect GE reflux as determined by esophageal histology was 70% and its specificity 87%. No relationship was observed between the magnitude of symptoms and the volume of GE reflux. A higher incidence of esophageal transit abnormalities was observed in those patients with histologic features of GE reflux than in those with normal histology. The combination of esophageal reflux and transit scintigraphy provides a way of studying some of the esophageal motor abnormalities associated with GE reflux. For clinical purposes GE reflux scintigraphy seems unsuitable as a single screening test.