To compare the efficacy of balloon dilatation (BD) and per oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) in improving the symptoms of children with achalasia in short and long term Presently most guidelines such as American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) or European Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) recommend POEM or LHM or BD for the management of achalasia cardia based on the institutional expertise and patient preference. Only the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) recommend POEM or LHM over PBD for the management of achalasia in children. This is due to the lack of pediatric randomised control trial comparing the efficacy and safety of the two methods both in long and short term. Children 3-18 years of age diagnosed as a case of achalasia cardia Place of trial: Department of medical gastroenterology, AIG Hospitals, Gachibowli and Somajiguda/Banjara Hills Duration of the trial: 3-4 years Sample size: 70 (35 each arm) Inclusion criteria: All children diagnosed as a case of achalasia cardia aged 3-18 years Exclusion criteria: Children who have undergone prior BD or POEM or Heller's myotomy. Type 3 achalasia cardia. Prior oesophageal/gastric surgery. Coagulopathy. Patients refusing consent for the trial. Primary outcome: Percentage of children with achalasia cardia achieving a clinical success of BD and POEM at 12 months post intervention (clinical success is Eckardt score ≤ 3 and timed barium esophagogram (TBE) showing a holdup at gastroesophageal junction of \<5cm at 5 minutes without requirement of further intervention) Secondary outcomes: Major and minor treatment complications, percentage patients developing gastroesophageal reflux disease, procedure time and improvement in growth Randomization: A stratified block randomization shall be performed using computer generated random number tables BD arm: Children \<7 years of age will under 1-2 sessions of BD 1month apart with CRE 20mm balloon. Children 7-17 years of age will undergo 1-2 sessions of BD with Rigiflex II, Achalasia balloon dilator (30mm followed by 35mm). POEM arm: Children 3-17 years of age will undergo 1 session of POEM as per the unit protocol. Outcomes will be assessed at 3,6,12 months of the index procedure Crossover: If Eckardt score \>3 and TBE showing a stasis of \>5cm at 5 minutes, treatment is considered to have failed and crossover will be offered Endpoints: One year of follow up from the initial intervention or one year of follow up of the crossover intervention (in case of treatment failure), major complications. Interim analysis: Following completion of follow up of 50% of the trial participants Early termination of trial: In case of any treatment modality having \>10% major complications or during interim analysis one treatment modality significantly better than other (p\<0.003)
Age range
3 Years – 17 Years
Sex
ALL
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Primary: Clinical success is defined as • Eckardt score ≤ 3 • Absence of need for further endoscopic or surgical treatments to maintain Eckardt score ≤ 3 and • TBE showing oesophageal stasis of <5cm at 5minutes
Timeframe: 12 month
Dr.Srinivas srinidhi vadlapudi, MD, DM