Comparison of gastric relaxation and sensory functions between functional dyspepsia and healthy subjects using novel drinking-ultrasonography test.
BACKGROUND
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by various upper abdominal symptoms. The major mechanism of FD includes impaired fundic accommodation, delayed gastric emptying and visceral hypersensitivity. We developed a novel drinking-ultrasonography test to combine a drink test with ultrasonography to assess gastric motility and sensory function of FD patients.


METHODS
Subjects were 20 healthy volunteers and 26 successive FD patients according to the Rome III criteria. The subjects ingested 200 ml of water at 2-min intervals 4 times (total 800 ml) through a straw. The maximum cross section of the proximal stomach was visualized before water intake, after each water intake, and 5 and 10 min after the completion of drinking using extracorporeal ultrasonography. Abdominal symptoms were evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS) a total of 5 times.


RESULTS
The mean cross-sectional area of the fornix after 800 ml of water intake was significantly lower in the FD group compared with the control group. In the FD group, marked abdominal symptoms developed immediately after initiation of water intake, and VAS score differed significantly (p < 0.01) between the control and FD groups at each time point.


CONCLUSIONS
We developed the novel drinking-ultrasonography test which revealed abnormalities in gastric accommodation and sensation in patients with FD compared with healthy controls. This approach can be readily performed and allows the simultaneous evaluation of gastric accommodation, emptying and sensation.
Department of Gastroenterology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Tamotsu
T
Hata
Mototsugu
M
Kato
Takahiko
T
Kudo
Mutsumi
M
Nishida
Urara
U
Nishida
Aki
A
Imai
Takeshi
T
Yoshida
Jyojyo
J
Hirota
Go
G
Kamada
Shouko
S
Ono
Manabu
M
Nakagawa
Soichi
S
Nakagawa
Yuichi
Y
Shimizu
Hiroshi
H
Takeda
Masahiro
M
Asaka
D000328:Adult; D004326:Drinking; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000294:innervation*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult