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The aim of this study was to compare esophageal motor characteristics between diabetics and healthy individuals.Esophageal manometry was performed in 34 type 2 diabetics and 32 healthy individuals. Waves were evaluated in the 3 thirds of the esophagus (P1=upper, P2=middle, and P3=distal).In diabetics vs. controls, wave distribution was as follows: peristaltic waves, 83.5 ± 22.2% vs. 96.3 ± 4.4%, p0.002; simultaneous waves, 3.26 ± 5.8% vs. 0.53 ± 1.3%, p0.01; no transmitted waves, 10.62 ± 20.7% vs. 2.75 ± 3.0%, p0.002; and retrograde waves, 2.68 ± 4.0% vs. 0.31 ± 1.1%, p0.03. Wave amplitude was similar between groups. Average upstroke (mmHg/s) in diabetics vs. non-diabetics was P2, 33.8 ± 13.9 vs. 40.2 ± 17.7, p0.03; and P3, 29.8 ± 15.3 vs. 41.3 ± 14.0, p0.002.(1) Simultaneous waves, no transmitted waves, and retrograde esophageal waves were significantly more frequent in diabetics. (2) Average upstroke was significantly lower within the middle and distal esophagus of diabetic individuals. (3) Wave amplitude was similar in both groups.

Spondylodiskitis is a rare condition in adults but with high index of morbidity and mortality due to difficult diagnosis. The insidious evolution and the unspecificity of symptoms interfere with prompt treatment, being the diagnosis based primarily on a high index of suspicion. There are two major groups of spondylodiskitis: pyogenic, being Staphylococcus aureus the most frequent etiological pathogen, and granulomatous, caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Brucella melitensis, both endemic in Portugal. The authors describe two clinical cases of spondylodiskitis, where the etiological investigation proved a challenge. In both cases the combination of clinical and imagiological data contributed to the appropriate empirical treatment, with a favorable clinical outcome.