Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22532812›Full record

ReviewDeutsches Arzteblatt international2012

Achalasia--a disease of unknown cause that is often diagnosed too late.

Ines Gockel, Michaela Müller, Johannes Schumacher

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  6. Achalasia: Physician Practices and Knowledge in Türkiye.The Turkish journal of gastroenterology : the official journal of Turkish Society of Gastroenterology · 2026
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  18. Validation of new Japanese classification system for esophageal achalasia.Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society · 2019
    Article
  19. Is There Any Evidence for a Viral Cause in Achalasia?Middle East journal of digestive diseases · 2018
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ines GockelDepartment of General and Abdominal Surgery, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
Michaela Müller
Johannes Schumacher
University Hospital Bonn · DEUniversity of Bonn · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMany physicians are inadequately familiar with the clinical features of achalasia. Often, it is not diagnosed until years after the symptoms arise. This is unfortunate, because a delay in diagnosis worsens the prognosis.

methodsSelective review of the literature.

resultsAchalasia has a lifetime prevalence of 1:10 000. It is a neurodegenerative disorder in which the neurons of the myenteric plexus are lost, leading to dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter and to a derangement of esophageal peristalsis. In the final stage of achalasia, esophageal motility is irreversibly impaired, and complications ensue because of the retention of food that is no longer transported into the stomach. Aspiration causes pulmonary disturbances in up to half of all patients with achalasia. There may also be inflammation of the esophageal mucosa (retention esophagitis); this, in turn, is a risk factor for esophageal cancer, which arises in 4% to 6% of patients. The cause of achalasia is not fully known, but autoimmune processes appear to be involved in patients with a genetic susceptibility to the disease.

conclusionAchalasia should be diagnosed as early as possible, so that complications can be prevented. In addition, guidelines should be established for cancer prevention in achalasia patients. Currently ongoing studies of the molecular causes of achalasia will probably help us understand its pathophysiology.

Indexed as

CatheterizationDelayed DiagnosisDiagnostic ImagingEndoscopy, GastrointestinalEsophageal AchalasiaHumansLaparoscopyTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID22532812
PMCPMC3329145
OpenAlexW2132705377

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.