The etiologic role of gastric hypersensitivity in functional dyspepsia in Korea

To evaluate the role of gastric hypersensitivity and the relationship betwe en gastric hypersensitivity and delayed gastric emptying in Korean function al dyspepsia (FD) patients, the authors performed gastric barostat and gast ric emptying scintigraphy in 64 FD patients and compared these results with those of control subjects. Basal tones and gastric compliance were similar in control subjects and patients. However, threshold of abdominal discomfo rt was lower in FD patients than in control subjects (8.9 +/- 3.6 mml-Ig an d 14.5 +/- 3.7 mmHg respectively; p < 0.05). Twenty-four of 64 patients (37 .5%) experienced abdominal discomfort at a pressure less than 7 mmHg above minimal distending pressure (corresponding to the 95th percentile of normal values). Half time of solid-phase gastric emptying in patients and control subjects was not significantly different. Twenty-three of 61 patients (35. 9%) had delayed gastric emptying compared with control subjects (normal ran ges were mean +/- two standard deviations in control subjects). Thresholds of abdominal discomfort were not significantly different in patients with a nd without delayed gastric emptying (9.3 +/- 4.0 mL/mmHg vs. 8.6 +/- 3.3 mL /mmHg). There were also no significant differences in the proportion of pat ients with delayed gastric emptying between patients with and without gastr ic hypersensitivity. In conclusion, gastric hypersensitivity plays an impor tant role in FD, and the presence of gastric hypersensitivity was not relat ed to the presence of delayed gastric emptying.