Anticholinergic, anti-depressant and other medication use is associated with clinically relevant oesophageal manometric abnormalities.

Background: Medications can affect gastrointestinal tract motility. However, their effects on oesophageal motility in particular are often not as widely known or may be underestimated.

Aim: To review the effect of existing medication use on high-resolution oesophageal manometry (HRM) in a 'real-world' setting.

Methods: Adult patients with upper gut symptoms and normal endoscopy or imaging who had HRM over a 22-month period were analysed. Achalasia and major disorders of peristalsis were excluded. All medications taken within 24 hours of the procedure were prospectively recorded and compared with HRM results, controlling for age, gender and proton pump inhibitor use.

Results: A total of 502 patients (323 female, mean age 51) were recruited. Of these, 41.2% had normal oesophageal HRM, while 41.4% had ineffective oesophageal motility (IOM) and 7.6% had oesophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (OGJOO). Serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) and opioids were associated with significantly higher resting lower oesophageal sphincter pressure. Benzodiazepines and opioids were associated with elevated integrated relaxation pressure. SNRI and inhaled beta-agonists were associated with increased distal contractile index, whereas calcium channel blockers were associated with a lower distal contractile index. Odds ratio of being on anticholinergics was higher in IOM patients vs normal (3.6, CI 1.2-10.8). Odds ratio for anticholinergics, inhaled beta-agonists, anticonvulsants, SNRIs and opioids (trend) were all > 3 for OGJOO patients vs normal.

Conclusion: Many medication classes are associated with abnormal HRM variables and diagnoses such as OGJOO and IOM; some of these associations are probably causal. These possible links should be taken into consideration during manometry interpretation.