Work

Jackhammer Esophagus Presenting as Chest Discomfort and Dyspnea in a Patient With Undifferentiated Inflammatory Arthritis and a Positive Scl-70 Antibody Test

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Chest discomfort in patients with autoimmune connective tissue disease often prompts extensive cardiopulmonary evaluation, yet esophageal motility disorders remain an underrecognized etiology. In this report, we present a case of a 34-year-old woman with Raynaud's phenomenon, undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis (ANA- and Scl-70-positive), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) who developed progressive dyspnea and chest tightness following an influenza A infection. Despite an unremarkable broad initial workup that included computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography, echocardiography, and pulmonary function testing, high-resolution esophageal manometry with impedance, along with supplemental testing (endoluminal functional lumen imaging probe (EndoFLIP) and barium esophagram), ultimately supported a diagnosis of jackhammer esophagus (JE), a rare hypercontractile esophageal motility disorder. This case highlights JE as a rare and underrecognized cause of chest symptoms that should be considered when cardiopulmonary evaluation is unrevealing, particularly in patients with underlying autoimmune connective tissue disease, positive SSc serological markers, and a history of gastrointestinal disease.

Source: Cureus

DOI: 10.7759/cureus.117601

Authors: Giuliana Perini Villanueva, Alex Kokaly, Nisha Sunku, Christina W Chung

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Gastroesophageal reflux and treatments

Subfield: Gastroenterology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W7220838298