Gastroparesis

• Published in: Nature reviews. Disease primers Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 41
• Main Authors: Camilleri, Michael, Chedid, Victor, Ford, Alexander C., Haruma, Ken, Horowitz, Michael, Jones, Karen L., Low, Phillip A., Park, Seon-Young, Parkman, Henry P., Stanghellini, Vincenzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.11.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/1807/1676; 692/1807/1876; 692/4020/1503; 692/4020/1503/2753/1977; 692/699/1702; Cancer Research; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus; Epidemiology; Food; Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal diseases; Gastroparesis - diagnosis; Gastroparesis - epidemiology; Gastroparesis - therapy; Humans; Iatrogenesis; Internal Medicine; Medical Microbiology; Medicine & Public Health; Motility; Overweight; Paresis; Primer; Quality of Life - psychology; Quality of Life Research; Radionuclide Imaging - methods; Risk Factors; Scintigraphy; Stomach; Syndrome; Viral infections
• ISSN: 2056-676X; 2056-676X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41572-018-0038-z

Gastroparesis is a disorder characterized by delayed gastric emptying of solid food in the absence of a mechanical obstruction of the stomach, resulting in the cardinal symptoms of early satiety, postprandial fullness, nausea, vomiting, belching and bloating. Gastroparesis is now recognized as part of a broader spectrum of gastric neuromuscular dysfunction that includes impaired gastric accommodation. The overlap between upper gastrointestinal symptoms makes the distinction between gastroparesis and other disorders, such as functional dyspepsia, challenging. Thus, a confirmed diagnosis of gastroparesis requires measurement of delayed gastric emptying via an appropriate test, such as gastric scintigraphy or breath testing. Gastroparesis can have idiopathic, diabetic, iatrogenic, post-surgical or post-viral aetiologies. The management of gastroparesis involves: correcting fluid, electrolyte and nutritional deficiencies; identifying and treating the cause of delayed gastric emptying (for example, diabetes mellitus); and suppressing or eliminating symptoms with pharmacological agents as first-line therapies. Several novel pharmacologic agents and interventions are currently in the pipeline and show promise to help tailor individualized therapy for patients with gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a chronic disorder characterized by gastric neuromuscular dysfunction, which causes delayed gastric emptying that is associated with symptoms of nausea and vomiting. This Primer describes different causes of gastroparesis and highlights specific diagnostic tests and management strategies.