Abdominal Pain
Dyspepsia
Gastroparesis
Nausea
Obesity

Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a condition of delayed gastric emptying, lasting at least 3 months in the absence of mechanical obstruction. The illness is defined by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, early satiety, and abdominal pain. Delayed or ineffective gastric emptying results from abnormalities in gastrointestinal motor function, a complex sequence of events involving the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, gastric smooth muscle cells, pacemaker cells within the stomach and intestine, and the pyloric sphincter. Patients with gastroparesis have alterations in mucosal immune cell infiltration and cytokine expression. More than 50% of cases of gastroparesis are idiopathic; diabetic, postsurgical, and postinfectious causes are common. The increasing incidence of gastroparesis has been attributed to the higher prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and causative medications. Clinically, many patients have symptoms overlapping with functional dyspepsia, and the two disorders commonly co-occur; diagnostic testing is important to document the presence of gastroparesis. This activity reviews the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, evaluation, and management of gastroparesis and highlights the important role of the interprofessional healthcare team in improving outcomes for patients with this gastrointestinal disease process.

Credit & MOC Details

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