Background — The responses of the upper esophageal sphincter to gastroesophageal reflux is controversial. Objective - Study the effect of upper esophageal sphincter to the esophageal acid perfusion. Methods - Thirty adult dogs of both sexes were studied, being submitted to esophageal electromanometry. The pull through technique and continuous infusion of the catheters with distilled water were employed. These exams allowed us to measure the pressure width (mm Hg) and the length (cm) of the upper esophageal sphincter in basal conditions (moment 1). After this first phase the animals were submitted to esophagic infusion, being then divided in three groups, according to the solution used in the infusion and the moment of the study, as follows: Group 1: esophagic infusion with distilled water and electromanometric studies accomplished 15 minutes (moment 2) and 30 minutes (moment 3) of the end of the infusion. Group 2: esophagic infusion with HCl 0,1 N and electromanometric studies accomplished 15 minutes after the end of the infusion (moment 2). Group 3: esophagic infusion with HCl 0,1 N and electromanometric studies accomplished 30 minutes after the end of the infusion (moment 3). Results/Conclusions - This research was performed to evaluate the esophagic acidification influence on the upper esophageal sphincter. The observed results allowed us to conclude that the acidification of the esophagus did not cause any alteration on the pressure width and on the length of the upper esophageal sphincter.
Manometry; Esophagogastric junction; Hydrochloric acid; Dogs
