Table 1.
Cumulative effectiveness of endoscope-guided pneumatic dilators for the treatment of achalasia by using low compliance Regiflex dilators
| Author (yr) | n | Study design | Dilator size (cm) | Improvement (%) | Follow-up (yr) | Perforation (%) |
| (excellent/good) | mean (range) | |||||
| Levine et al[25] (1987) | 62 | Retrospective | 3.0-3.5 | 85/88 | - | 0 |
| Lambroza et al[24] (1995) | 27 | Retrospective | 3.0 | 67 | 1.8 (0.1-4.8) | 0 |
| Dobrucali et al[28] (2004) | 43 | Prospective | 3.0-3.5 | 54/79 | 2.4 (0.5-5) | 0 |
| Rai et al[29] (2005) | 56 | Prospective | 3.5 | 92.9/89.3 | 2 | 0 |
| Chuah et al[11] (2009) | 32 | Prospective | 3.0 | 69/91 | 4.5 (2.5-7) | 3.3 |