ArticleDigestion2026
Paratracheal Air Stripe Sign: A Useful Chest X-Ray Finding for Diagnosis in Patients with Esophageal Achalasia.
Article in Digestion, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionEsophageal achalasia is a rare motility disorder, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) alone has limited diagnostic accuracy, often leading to delayed diagnosis. High-resolution manometry remains the diagnostic gold standard, but its availability in primary care is limited. Therefore, more accessible diagnostic methods are needed. Given the widespread use of chest X-ray, we investigated whether it reveals distinctive features in achalasia patients.
methodsIn this retrospective cohort study, 215 patients with esophageal achalasia treated between 2015 and 2024 were analyzed. Diagnostic yields of EGD, esophagography, and computed tomography (CT) were evaluated among patients who underwent these examinations in primary care facilities. Chest X-rays were systematically reviewed for paratracheal radiolucency, and a novel radiographic sign - the paratracheal air stripe sign (PASS) - was defined as a paratracheal radiolucent area with a minimum width of ≥5 mm and length of ≥20 mm. To assess specificity, an additional analysis was performed in 210 patients with esophageal cancer as a non-achalasia control cohort.
resultsDiagnostic yields in primary care were 41.1% for EGD, 88.4% for esophagography, and 34.8% for CT. PASS was present in 67.0% of achalasia cases and more frequent in patients with type I achalasia, sigmoid-type morphology, and advanced esophageal dilation. Among patients undiagnosed by EGD, 63.9% exhibited PASS. In the non-achalasia control cohort, PASS was observed in 18.0% of cases, predominantly in patients with structural esophageal changes such as tortuosity or dilatation.
conclusionPASS represents a novel and clinically useful chest X-ray feature associated with esophageal achalasia. Its relatively high prevalence, even among cases missed by EGD, and low occurrence in non-achalasia patients suggest that routine assessment of PASS in chest X-rays may aid early detection and timely referral for definitive diagnosis, particularly in primary care settings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.