Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2021 Apr:231:117-123.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.12.048. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

Meal-Induced Symptoms in Children with Dyspepsia-Relationships to Sex and the Presence of Gastroparesis

Liz Febo-Rodriguez  1 , Bruno P Chumpitazi  2 , Salma Musaad  3 , Andrew C Sher  4 , Robert J Shulman  2
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Meal-Induced Symptoms in Children with Dyspepsia-Relationships to Sex and the Presence of Gastroparesis

Liz Febo-Rodriguez et al. J Pediatr. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that in children with dyspepsia, prospective symptom severity following ingestion of a meal would correlate with percent gastric retention, and those ultimately diagnosed with gastroparesis would report worse symptoms.

Study design: Prospective, single-center study with 104 children with dyspepsia completing a prospective dyspepsia symptom questionnaire before and after eating a standardized Tougas meal during gastric emptying scintigraphy. Main outcomes included correlation between gastric retention and symptoms and comparison of symptom severity between those with and without gastroparesis.

Results: Fifty-two children (50%) had gastroparesis (gastroparesis: 12.5 ± 2.9 years, 65% female; nongastroparesis: 13.0 ± 2.9 years, 60% female; all P > .05). Bloating was the only symptom significantly worse in youth with gastroparesis. For the entire cohort, bloating and fullness correlated with percent retention. However, in those with gastroparesis, only nausea correlated with retention (4 hours.; rs = 0.275, P < .05). Girls with gastroparesis had significantly worse symptoms (except satiety) when compared with boys with gastroparesis (P < .05).

Conclusions: Overall in children, there is little difference in symptom severity between children with gastroparesis vs normal emptying based on current standards. However, girls with gastroparesis have worse symptoms vs boys with gastroparesis, underscoring a need for further studies into the role of sex in gastroparesis symptoms. In all children, both bloating and fullness correlated modestly with gastric retention, and nausea correlated in those with gastroparesis.

Keywords: dyspepsia; gastric emptying scintigraphy; gastroparesis; pediatrics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Camilleri M, Chedid V, Ford AC, Haruma K, Horowitz M, Jones KL, et al. Gastroparesis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2018;4:41. - PubMed
    1. Camilleri M. Novel Diet, Drugs, and Gastric Interventions for Gastroparesis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;14:1072–80. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Islam S. Gastroparesis in children. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2015;27:377–82. - PubMed
    1. Pasricha PJ, Parkman HP. Gastroparesis: definitions and diagnosis. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2015;44:1–7. - PubMed
    1. Ng TSC, Putta N, Kwatra NS, Drubach LA, Rosen R, Fahey FH, et al. Pediatric Solid Gastric Emptying Scintigraphy: Normative Value Guidelines and Nonstandard Meal Alternatives. Am J Gastroenterol. 2020. - PubMed

Publication types