Table 3 Presence of autonomic reflexes, high sphincter of O’Beirne activity, and autonomic dysfunction in individual patients.

From: Diagnosis of colonic dysmotility associated with autonomic dysfunction in patients with chronic refractory constipation

F/M Age	Autonomic reflexes				High sphincter of O’Beirne activity	High sympathetic activity, low parasympathetic activity and/or high SI/RSA			Pathophysiology hypothesis
F/M Age	Vagosacral reflex	Gastrocolic reflex	Sacral autonomic reflex	Coloanal reflex	High sphincter of O’Beirne activity	Supine tone	Active standing test	Colonic stimuli	Pathophysiology hypothesis
Normal HAPW group
P-1 F43	✓	×	✓	×	✓	×	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity to standing and colonic stimuli may inhibit the gastrocolic reflex and contribute to coloanal dyssynergia and high sphincter of O’Beirne activity
P-2 M17	ND	✓	✓	×	×	×	×	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity to colonic stimuli may contribute to coloanal dyssynergia
P-3 F40	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	×	×	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity to colonic stimuli may contribute to high sphincter of O’Beirne activity
P-4 F6	✓	✓	×	×	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may contribute to coloanal dyssynergia and absence of sacral autonomic reflex
P-5 F8	ND	✓	✓	✓	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may reduce colonic motility
Weak HAPW group
P-6 M11	✓	✓	×	✓	×	×	×	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity only to rectal bisacodyl may contribute to the absence of sacral autonomic reflex
P-7 F24 Figure 5A–E	ND	×	✓	✓	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may contribute to the absence of the gastrocolic reflex
P-8 F15	×	✓	×	✓	✓	✓	✓	×	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity to standing may contribute to weak HAPW activity and high sphincter of O’Beirne activity, but not the absence of vagosacral and sacral autonomic reflex which were associated with high parasympathetic reactivity to stimuli
P-9 F35	×	✓	×	✓	✓	×	×	×	High sphincter of O’Beirne activity and the absence of vagosacral and sacral autonomic reflex were not due to dominance of sympathetic activity
P-10 F13	×	×	×	×	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may contribute to coloanal dyssynergia and the absence of multiple autonomic reflexes
No HAPW group
P-11 F24	×	×	×	ND	×	×	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity may contribute to the absence of multiple autonomic reflexes
P-12 F15 Figure 5F–J	ND	×	×	✓	✓	×	×	✓	Dominant sympathetic reactivity may contribute to the absence of gastrocolic and sacral autonomic reflex, and high sphincter of O’Beirne activity
P-13 F36	ND	✓	×	×	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may contribute to coloanal dyssynergia and the absence of sacral autonomic reflex
P-14 F9	ND	×	ND	ND	×	✓	✓	✓	Dominant sympathetic tone and reactivity may contribute to the absence of gastrocolic reflex

ND: Not determined due to catheter position for vagosacral reflex, or lack of HAPWs and SPWs for coloanal reflex.
Vagosacral reflex = proximal colon originating HAPW or LAPW that travels into the left colon, it includes category 2 HAPWs (Table 1) only if it travels into the left colon, and is evoked with or without an external stimulus.
Gastrocolic reflex = response to a meal by an increase in HAPWs and/or SPWs from baseline.
Sacral autonomic reflex = Distal colon originating HAPW in response to rectal bisacodyl.
Coloanal reflex = Anal sphincter relaxed by more than 30% when associated with HAPW and LAPWs, or more than 25% when associated with SPWs. Failed relaxation associated with more than one HAPW in one intervention, one or more HAPWs in all interventions, or more than 33% of SPWs when fewer than two HAPWs are present indicates coloanal dyssynergia.
Patients with normal HAPWs have HAPW propulsive activity score within one standard deviation from healthy subject mean value. Weak HAPW group indicate the propulsive activity score that is less than one standard deviation below the mean. No HAPW group did not have any HAPWs.
High or low HRV parameters in patients were defined as values greater or less than 1SD from the mean of healthy subjects, details are reported in Supplementary Table S5.

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Table 3 Presence of autonomic reflexes, high sphincter of O’Beirne activity, and autonomic dysfunction in individual patients.

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