Background: The current definition for hypercontractile esophagus was arbitrarily set at the uppermost range in volunteers for a specific equipment.
Objective: This study aims to critically analyze the concept of hypercontractile waves to redefine hypercontractile esophagus parameters.
Methods: We reviewed 500 unselected and consecutive HRM tests (5000 waves) performed in a water -perfused system.
Results: Mean distal contractility integral (DCI) was 825±1492 (0-42775) mmHg.cm.s, two standard deviations above average = 3810; 95th percentile = 2798 mmHg.cm.s.
Conclusion: In healthy volunteers, two standard deviations above average is 4000 mmHg.cm.s, we thus suggest this value to define hypercontractile waves and define hypercontractile esophagus in a water-perfused HRM system.