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A 57-year-old man presented with dysphagia in solids and liquids deteriorating in the last months and weight loss of 3 kg. A thoracic CT revealed a limit dilatation of the lower esophagus with food residue. An upper endoscopy was performed revealing bubble content and a contraction of the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). A barium esophagogram demonstrated deceleration of esophageal emptying and a bird beak sign indicative of esophageal achalasia (Figure A). High resolution esophageal manometry was performed to evaluate the subtype of achalasia. The catheter could not be intubated into the stomach because of LES spasticity, it folded back cephalad at this level, producing a mirror image, the characteristic "butterfly wings" appearance of a folded manometry catheter (Figure B).

Background: Bowel cleansing is an important factor for the quality of colonoscopy. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of split-dose oral sulfate salts on bowel preparation and to determine parameters influencing the quality of bowel cleaning., Method: Consecutive adults who completed their preparation for colonoscopy with a regimen of sulfate salts were enrolled., Results: Of the 446 patients, 11 were excluded from the analysis. Among the 435 patients, 257 (59.1%) were female, mean age was 62.0±11.6 years and median body mass index (BMI) 26.1 kg/m 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 23.8-29.4). Indications for colonoscopy were screening 155 (35.6%), surveillance 102 (23.5%), or other 178 (40.9%). The median time between the end of second dose of the preparation regimen and colonoscopy initiation was 5:15 h (IQR 4:30-6:00, min: 2:20, max: 12:20). Minor adverse events were reported in 62 (14.3%) patients. BBPS=9 was observed in 279 (64.14%) patients. Segmental BBPS=3 was achieved in 387 (88.97%), 346 (79.54%) and 289 (66.44%) patients (P<0.001) in the descending, transverse and ascending colon, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that BMI (odds ratio [OR] 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1-1.1) and time between the end of the second laxative dose and colonoscopy initiation (OR 1.25, 95%CI 1.08-1.45) were associated with poorer bowel preparation., Conclusions: A split dose of oral sulfate salts is an efficacious and well tolerated regimen. Obesity and a longer time interval between the end of the second dose and colonoscopy initiation negatively influence bowel cleanliness., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: None, (Copyright: © Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.