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Esophageal Achalasia in the Veneto Region: Epidemiology and Treatment

Epidemiology and Treatment of Achalasia

  • Original Article
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Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery Aims and scope

Abstract

Introduction

Achalasia is a rare esophageal motility disorder, incurable but amenable to palliative treatments to relieve dysphagia. Given the rarity of the disease, there is a paucity of data from population-based studies on incidence and outcome of the two treatments most commonly used in clinical practice, i.e., endoscopic pneumatic dilation (PD) and surgical myotomy (SM).

Materials and Methods

A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted on the Veneto region, in north-eastern Italy. All patients with achalasia as their primary diagnosis between 2001 and 2005 were identified and their demographics and treatment details obtained.

Results

The overall incidence of achalasia was 1.59 cases/100,000/year. Achalasia patients were mainly seen at University Hospitals. Fifty-five percent of the patients received treatment, 23.3% SM and 31.8% PD. The cumulative risk of any subsequent intervention for achalasia was 20% in treated patients (29.7% in patients treated primarily with PD and 4% in patients treated with SM first).

Discussion

The epidemiology of achalasia in the Veneto Region is in line with the situation reported elsewhere and did not change between 2001 and 2005. Achalasia patients are mostly seen at University Hospitals. We observed a greater risk of subsequent intervention for patients previously treated with PD compared with SM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Innovation and Research Unit, Health and Social Agency of Veneto Region, Venice, Italy

    Nicola Gennaro & Costantino Gallo

  2. Unità Operativa Complessa General Surgery, ULSS 15, Cittadella, Italy

    Giuseppe Portale

  3. Unità Operativa Complessa General Surgery, Hospital Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Castello 6777, 30100, Venice, Italy

    Stefano Rocchietto, Valentina Caruso & Giovanni Zaninotto

  4. Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padova School of Medicine, Padua, Italy

    Mario Costantini, Renato Salvador & Alberto Ruol

Authors
  1. Nicola Gennaro
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  2. Giuseppe Portale
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  3. Costantino Gallo
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  4. Stefano Rocchietto
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  5. Valentina Caruso
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  6. Mario Costantini
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  7. Renato Salvador
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  8. Alberto Ruol
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  9. Giovanni Zaninotto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Zaninotto.

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Gennaro, N., Portale, G., Gallo, C. et al. Esophageal Achalasia in the Veneto Region: Epidemiology and Treatment. J Gastrointest Surg 15, 423–428 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-010-1392-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-010-1392-7

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