Esophageal function testing using multichannel intraluminal impedance.

Multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII) is a new technique for evaluation of bolus transport. We evaluated esophageal function using bolus transport time (BTT) and contraction wave velocity (CWV) of liquid, semisolid, and solid boluses. Ten healthy subjects underwent MII swallow evaluation with various boluses of sterile water (pH 5), applesauce, three different sized marshmallows, and iced and 130 degrees F water. The effect of bethanechol was also studied. There was no difference in BTT or CWV for all water volumes from 1 to 20 ml. There was significant linear increase of BTT with progressively larger volumes of applesauce, and BTT of applesauce was longer than for water. BTT was significantly longer with large marshmallows vs. small and medium and was longer than for water. BTT for iced water was similar to 130 degrees F water. Applesauce showed a significant linear decrease of CWV with progressively larger volumes and was slower than water. Marshmallow showed significantly slower CWV with the large vs. small, and CWV for ice water was significantly slower than 130 degrees F water. Therefore, BTT of liquid is constant, whereas BTT of semisolid and solid are volume dependent and longer than liquids. CWV of semisolids and solids are slower than liquids. CWV of cold liquids is slower than warm liquids. MII can be used as a discriminating test of esophageal function.