Small intestinal manometry in patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES: The study explores, by the use of manometry, the frequency and severity of small intestinal involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis, and relates the manometric findings to clinical symptoms, radiology, and some intestinal regulatory peptides.

METHODS: Stationary antroduodeno-jejunal manometry was used to study small bowel involvement in 10 patients with systemic sclerosis and dysmotility of the oesophagus or signs of malabsorption. Measurements were made during fasting, after a meal, and after octreotide administration and were then compared with a sex-matched control group of healthy individuals. Plasma samples were taken in order to analyse levels of motilin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, and somatostatin.

RESULTS: Manometry was abnormal, with signs of intestinal pseudo-obstruction in eight out of 10 patients. In the control group, one individual had an abnormal manometry, as a result of burst activity. The mean contractile amplitudes during fasting and periods after food, spontaneous phase III periods, and octreotide-induced activity complexes were significantly reduced in the systemic sclerosis group when compared with controls. None of the patients, including two with advanced manometric intestinal disturbances, had small intestinal dilatation when examined by radiography. The plasma peptide levels did not differ significantly between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: In eight out of 10 patients the manometric criteria for intestinal pseudo-obstruction were fulfilled, with a motility pattern consistent with both neuropathy and myopathy. The release of motility-regulating peptides was unaffected.