Serum anti-enteric neuronal antibodies in patients with achalasia and their association with clinical profiles

Table 2 Comparison of individual contents, anatomy, resistance, and stasis components across different intensities of anti-enteric neuronal antibodies, n (%)

CARS component1	AENA negative (n = 38)	AENA positive (n = 58)	P value	AENA moderate-positive (n = 36)	AENA strong-positive (n = 22)	P value
Content			0.750			0.233
None	1 (2.6)	5 (8.6)		5 (13.9)	0 (0.0)
Retained secretions or liquid	22 (57.9)	30 (51.7)		18 (50.0)	12 (54.5)
Retained solids	15 (39.5)	23 (39.7)		13 (36.1)	10 (45.5)
Anatomy			< 0.001b			< 0.001b
Normal caliber	3 (7.9)	4 (6.9)		4 (11.1)	0 (0.0)
Dilated lumen	32 (84.2)	30 (51.7)		23 (63.9)	7 (31.8)
Severely dilated lumen	3 (7.9)	24 (41.4)		9 (25.0)	15 (68.2)
Resistance			0.431			0.017a
None	5 (13.2)	3 (5.2)		2 (5.6)	1 (4.5)
Mild	20 (52.6)	33 (56.9)		25 (69.4)	8 (36.4)
Significant	13 (34.2)	22 (37.9)		9 (25.0)	13 (59.1)
Stasis			0.626			0.059
No evidence for stasis	27 (71.1)	39 (67.2)		21 (58.3)	18 (81.8)
Chronic stasis changes	11 (28.9)	17 (29.3)		13 (36.1)	4 (18.2)
Candida esophagitis	0 (0.0)	2 (3.4)		2 (5.6)	0 (0.0)

^aP < 0.05.

^bP < 0.01.

¹The sample size for anti-enteric neuronal antibodies (AENA)-positive in assessing CARS (contents, anatomy, resistance, and stasis) was 58 (not 59), due to one patient in the moderate-positive AENA group refusing endoscopic assessment.

Comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. CARS: Contents, anatomy, resistance, and stasis; AENA: Anti-enteric neuronal antibodies.