[Electrogastrography in various clinical forms of functional dyspepsia].

UNLABELLED: Electrogastrography (EGG) is simple, noninvasive, painless and repeatable method of assessment of gastric myoelectrical activity. By means of cutaneous electrodes placed on the abdomen skin we can record and then using computer evaluate the slow waves of the stomach and this is one of the methods for the assessment of gastric myoelectrical activity that makes its possible to draw inferences about gastric motility. The pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia is still not clear, but the disorders of the motility and myoelectrical activity of the stomach probably play here very important role. AIM OF OUR STUDY: To evaluate gastric myoelectrical activity in patients suffering from functional dyspepsia (FD) and to answer the question if there are some differences between two clinical forms of the functional dyspepsia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 60 patients diagnosed with functional dyspepsia, aged 18-65 years (x = 34.8, SD = +/-12.1), and a reference group of 30 healthy volunteers aged 18-65 years (x = 38.2, SD = +/- 18.4) were tested. Dyspepsia was diagnosed on the basis of a detailed medical history taken according to the Roman Criteria III. A half of the patients with functional dyspepsia,. i.e., 30 persons tested, was composed of the patients with postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), whereas the other half (30 patients) included the patients with epigastric pain syndrome (EPS). The occurrence of Helicobacter pylori was excluded by a 13C-urea breath test and a urease test performed during gastroscopy. Cutaneous electrogastrography was recorded by electrodes placed on the abdomen skin for six hours. After an hour of recording of the gastric myoelectrical activity in patients on an empty stomach a solid or liquid test meal was served. Test meals, both solid and liquid, were of approximately the same energy value of about 300 kcal.

RESULTS: In the patients with functional dyspepsia gastric myoelectrical disorders occur with dominating dysrhythmia (p < 0.001), especially bradygastria, both in the record on an empty stomach and after a meal. The EGG records were different in the two forms of dyspepsia: in the group of patients with postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) there was statistically significant larger number of tachygastria both in the total record period (t = 2.719; p < 0.01) and after a meal (t = 2.164; p < 0.05) than in the group of patients with epigastric pain syndrome (EPS). CONCLUSIONS. (1) In the patients with functional dyspepsia gastric myoelectrical disorders occur with dominating dysrhythmia, especially bradygastria. (2) The EGG records are different in the two clinical forms of dyspepsia and this may be used for differential diagnostics of this disease: in epigastric pain syndrome bradygastria prevails whereas in postprandial distress syndrome bradygastria is dominant and an essential proportion of tachygastria is observed.