title: In functional dyspepsia, hypersensitivity to postprandial distention correlates with meal-related symptom severity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hypersensitivity to gastric distention, an important feature of functional dyspepsia, is assessed by stepwise balloon distention of the proximal stomach in fasting patients. However, symptoms of functional dyspepsia are often worse after a meal, so studies of postprandial balloon distentions might be more relevant. We compared the effects of fasting and postprandial stomach distention in patients with functional dyspepsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty healthy controls and 62 patients with functional dyspepsia participated in a gastric barostat study at Leuven University Hospital with graded isobaric distentions before and after a liquid meal. On a separate day, all patients underwent a gastric emptying breath test with assessment of postprandial severity of 6 different dyspeptic symptoms scored at 15-minute intervals for 4 hours. For each symptom, a meal-related severity score was obtained by adding all scores; the cumulative symptom score (CSS) was obtained by adding individual symptom severity scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients, but not in controls, postprandial sensitivity to balloon distention was significantly greater than fasting sensitivity. The CSS and individual symptom scores did not differ between patients with normal or hypersensitivity to fasting distention, but patients who were hypersensitive to postprandial distention had a significantly higher CSS, along with scores for postprandial fullness, bloating, and nausea (all P < .05). On multivariate analysis, hypersensitivity to postprandial distention was associated with hypersensitivity to fasting distention and with impaired accommodation to a meal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postprandial, but not fasting, distention thresholds are related to the severity of meal-related symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia.
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farré
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vanheel
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vanuytsel
authors.forename: Tatsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masaoka
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Törnblom
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simrén
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Oudenhove
authors.forename: Jan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Tack
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004106:Dilatation / Q000379:methods*; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D019518:Postprandial Period; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: CI; CSS; FD; Gastric Accommodation; IBS; MDP; PDS; Postprandial Distress Syndrome; SPECT; Visceral Hypersensitivity; confidence interval; cumulative symptom score; functional dyspepsia; gastric half-emptying time; irritable bowel syndrome; minimal distending pressure; postprandial distress syndrome; single-photon emission computed tomography; t(1/2)