Electrogastrography after operative repair of esophageal atresia

Esophageal atresia (EA) is a life-threatening disorder associated with operative complications. Postoperative gastric electrical control activity detected by a non-invasive electrogastrography (EGG) technique was investigated in 13 children aged 1-17 years to clarify whether gastric motility disorders were present. EGG abnormalities were present in 5 patients; persistent dysrhythmias were found in 3. Roentgenographic examinations showed mild gastroesophageal reflux in 3 (60%) of the dysrhythmic patients; 2 others had postprandial dysrhythmias. The mean spectral frequency (MSF) of EA cases with dysrhythmia was significantly higher than that of patients without dysrhythmia in both fasting and postprandial states (P < 0.05). The variability of the peak spectral frequencies (PSFV) in patients with dysrhythmia was significantly higher than in those without dysrhythmia in both fasting and postprandial states (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in MSF and PSFV between EA patients without dysrhythmia and controls. These results suggest that gastric motor activity may be disordered in patients following operative repair of EA, although they remain asymptomatic. EGG may be a useful screening examination for postoperative gastric functional disorders.