title: Symptoms of gastroparesis: use of the gastroparesis cardinal symptom index in symptomatic patients referred for gastric emptying scintigraphy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) was developed to assess symptoms of gastroparesis. The aim of this study was to correlate symptoms using the GCSI with delayed gastric emptying (DGE) in symptomatic patients referred for gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 226 consecutive symptomatic patients referred for GES completed the 9-question GCSI. GES was performed using a (99)Tc-labeled egg meal. Gastroparesis was defined as DGE at 2 h and/or 4 h.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using linear regression, nausea (p = 0.09), not able to finish a normal-size meal (p = 0.005), postprandial fullness subscore (p = 0.01), and total GCSI score (p = 0.06) were predictors of the gastric retention values at 2 h, but not at 4 h. Patients with gastroparesis had significant higher symptom scores for nausea (p = 0.035) and vomiting (p = 0.040) compared to patients with normal gastric emptying. The positive predictive value varied between 51 and 61% for total GCSI scores between 20 and 35, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The individual symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and early satiety were associated with DGE at 2 h but not at 4 h. In contrast, the total or average GCSI score did not reliably predict the diagnosis of gastroparesis in symptomatic patients referred for GES.
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Section, Department of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cassilly
authors.forename: Y Richard
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Frank K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Friedenberg
authors.forename: Deborah B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Alan H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Maurer
authors.forename: Henry P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Parkman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D018589:Gastroparesis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity