Dumping syndrome: establishing criteria for diagnosis and identifying new etiologies.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the current incidence and identify the current etiologies of rapid gastric emptying (dumping syndrome) in patients with a spectrum of gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea.


METHODS
The results for a 4-h radionuclide gastric emptying test (GET) using a standardized scintigraphic technique were reviewed in 545 patients to see which patients met criteria for rapid gastric emptying, defined as >50% emptying of isotope-labeled solid meal at 1 h.


RESULTS
Forty-eight of 545 (8.8%) patients (28 females, mean age 46 +/- 2 years, range 32-58 years) had rapid GET. Seventeen of 59 (35%) met Rome III diagnostic criteria for cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). Twelve of these 59 (25%) patients were regarded as non-ulcer dyspepsia and six (13%) had dyspepsia in the setting of diabetes mellitus. Five (10.5%) were post-fundoplication surgery, where an accidental vagotomy was confirmed by sham meal challenge; previous gastric bypass surgery for obesity had been performed in three (6%) patients. Five (10.5%) patients with unexplained abdominal pain and diarrhea had the working diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
Rapid gastric emptying can be identified in a sizeable subset (9%) of patients with unexplained nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea when criteria are applied to the standardized scintigraphic gastric emptying meal.
Hejazi
Reza A
RA
Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA. reza.abbaszdehhejazi@ttuhsc.edu
Patil
Harshal
H
McCallum
Richard W
RW
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D004377:Dumping Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid