Pj. Kahrilas et al., Increased frequency of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation induced by gastric distention in reflux patients with hiatal hernia, GASTROENTY, 118(4), 2000, pp. 688-695
Background & Aims: This study aimed to determine if hiatal hernia influence
s vulnerability to reflux and transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxati
on (tLESR) during gastric distention in patients with gastroesophageal refl
ux disease (GERD), Methods: Eight normal subjects and 15 patients with GERD
were studied. A metal clip attached to the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ) w
as beneath the hiatus in all control subjects. Eight GERD patients with sl-
cm SCJ-hiatus separation were considered hernia patients, and 7 with <1-cm
separation were considered nonhernia patients. Manometry and esophageal pH
were recorded for 30 minutes, after which the stomach was loaded with acid
dextrose and the recording continued for 2 hours with intragastric air infu
sion of 15 mL/min. Results: Baseline reflux was comparable among groups. Ga
stric distention increased the frequency of reflux by the tLESR mechanism i
n all groups. Controls and nonhernia patients had median increases of 4.0 a
nd 4.5 in tLESR frequency, respectively, and hernia patients had a median i
ncrease of 9.5/h. tLESR frequency was highly correlated with the SCJ-hiatus
separation (r = 0.76; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Gastric air infusion was a
potent stimulus for tLESR and reflux. The resultant tLESR frequency was dir
ectly proportional to the separation between the SCJ and hiatus, suggesting
that the perturbed anatomy associated with hiatal hernia predisposed to el
iciting tLESRs in patients with GERD.