SynthesisDigestive diseases and sciences2009
Meta-analysis of randomized and controlled treatment trials for achalasia.
Synthesis in Digestive diseases and sciences, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comprehensive evaluation of current strategies in achalasia treatment: Insights from an umbrella review.Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Achalasia: laparoscopic Heller myotomy with fundoplication versus peroral endoscopic myotomy-a systematic review and meta-analysis.Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society · 2024Pooled it
- Pneumatic balloon dilatation versus laparoscopic Heller myotomy for achalasia: a failed attempt at meta-analysis.Surgical endoscopy · 2021Pooled it
- Safety and efficacy of POEM for treatment of achalasia: a systematic review of the literature.Surgical endoscopy · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- SAGES guidelines for the surgical treatment of esophageal achalasia.Surgical endoscopy · 2012Guideline
- Randomisation to protect against selection bias in healthcare trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Is short-term therapy really sufficient to eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection?Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B · 2010Pooled it
- Laparoscopic Heller myotomy or pneumatic dilatation in achalasia: results of a prospective, randomized study with at least a decade of follow-up.Surgical endoscopy · 2021Trial
- Long-term efficacy of modified retrievable stents for treatment of achalasia cardia.Surgical endoscopy · 2016Trial
- Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of pediatric achalasia: a 10-year experience from a tertiary center in Iran.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Achalasia Following Pneumatic Dilation Treatment: A Single Center Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges in a Case of Achalasia Masquerading as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).Cureus · 2025Article
- Imaging following endoscopic and surgical treatment of achalasia.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2025Review
- Endoscopic ultrasound navigated application of botulinum toxin in severe esophageal motility disorder.Clinical journal of gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Achalasia-associated megaoesophagus presenting with dyspnoea and cough.BMJ case reports · 2024Article
- Laparoscopic Revisional Surgery After Failed Heller Myotomy for Esophageal Achalasia: Long-Term Outcome at a Single Tertiary Center.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2021Article
- Heller myotomy versus endoscopic balloon dilatation for achalasia: A single center experience.Medicine · 2019Article
- Management of Esophageal Achalasia in Quebec.Journal of clinical medicine research · 2019Article
- The Role of Botulinum Toxin Injections for Esophageal Motility Disorders.Current treatment options in gastroenterology · 2018Review
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Pharmacological therapy, botulinum toxin injection, pneumatic dilatation, and surgical myotomy are the primary therapeutic modalities for achalasia, for which laparoscopic myotomy is recommended as state-of-the-art therapy. However, its efficacy and safety remain unclear compared with other approaches in the treatment of achalasia. We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials, LILACS-Latin American, Caribbean health science literature, and Science Citation Index Expanded) for randomized controlled trials to evaluate which therapeutic measures are temporary and reversible and which measures are definitive and effective by pooling data including remission rate, relapse rate, complications, and adverse effects. Seventeen studies with 761 patients met our inclusion criteria. There was better remission rate in pneumatic dilation than in botulinum toxin injection for initial intervention [relative risk (RR) 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.51-3.20], Pneumatic dilation had lower relapse rate than did botulinum toxin injection (RR 0.12, 95% CI 0.04-0.32). Compared with pneumatic dilation, laparoscopic myotomy further increased remission rate (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.48-1.87), and reduced clinical relapse rate (RR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.58), and there was no difference in complication rate (RR 1.48, 95% CI 0.37-5.99). Based on limited randomized and controlled trials, laparoscopic myotomy is the preferred method for patients with achalasia. Future trials should investigate whether laparoscopic myotomy combined with different modalities of fundoplication is superior to isolated laparoscopic myotomy.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.