Esophageal Function Testing

摘要

It is my pleasure to serve as the guest editor for a special issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America that is devoted to the topic of esophageal function testing. Although at first glance it would seem that this topic would not fit with the typical subject matter of this particular publication, it is important to realize that esophageal function tests are complementary to endoscopy in exploring esophageal complaints. In fact, a prerequisite for performing many of these studies is a negative endoscopy, and thus the endoscopist should be well-informed regarding the indication and utility of these tests. In addition, some of these newer technologies now require endoscopy to be performed during the study as the placement or positioning of the measurement tool will require endbscopic landmarks or direct visualization during placement.