CLINICAL-VALUE OF ESOPHAGEAL MOTILITY TESTING

Esophageal motility testing is the method of choice in evaluating esop hageal motor disorders. Some physicians, however, question the clinica l utility of esophageal motility testing, since the results are often normal in symptomatic patients. The clinical utility of esophageal mot ility testing is reviewed for patients with a complaint of noncardiac chest pain, dysphagia or symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Esophageal motility testing is particularly useful for evaluating pati ents with dysphagia, but less so for gastroesophageal reflux disease p atients, and has little clinical utility in patients with noncardiac c hest pain.