Functional dyspepsia



Overview.

Clinical syndrome with chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms without organic disease mainly characterized by postprandial fullness, early satiety, epigastric pain, and burning sensation Functional dyspepsia may be associated with psychological and social factors use of medication, psychotherapy, etc.

Definition

Functional dyspepsia is defined as the presence of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms without abnormal findings on routine examination, and is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders in clinical practice.

Morbidity

  • The prevalence of functional dyspepsia in China ranges from 19% to 37%, which is slightly lower than the world average.
  • Women are more susceptible to this disease than men, which may be psychologically related.
  • Causes

    Causes

    The cause of functional dyspepsia is not well understood and may be related to the following factors.

    Visceral hypersensitivity

    May be the main cause of this disease. It is characterized by hypersensitivity of the gastrointestinal tract to external stimuli, accompanied by central sensory hypersensitivity.

    Dynamic disorders of the gastrointestinal system

    Delayed gastric emptying, accelerated and slowed intestinal passage time may be inextricably linked to the disease.

    Gastrointestinal infections

  • Acute gastrointestinal infections may be associated with some functional dyspepsia and may predispose to the disease.
  • Pathogens include bacteria and parasites. Some of the common ones are Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella and Giardia lamblia.
  • Psychological factors

    The disease is highly prevalent in people with mental abnormalities, which may be accompanied by anxiety, depression, and disturbed sleep habits.

    Other factors

    Genetic, environmental, and food factors may be associated with some functional dyspepsia.

    Symptoms

    Main Symptoms

  • Post-meal fullness: stomach discomfort after meals, a constant feeling of fullness, a feeling that food has been stored in the stomach without being digested.
  • Early satiety: feeling full after eating a little, no appetite at all, unable to eat regular amount of food.
  • Epigastric pain: mostly manifested as irregular pain, some people manifested as epigastric pain after eating.
  • The epigastrium is accompanied by a burning sensation.
  • Some people also experience epigastric bloating, belching, nausea and vomiting.
  • Other symptoms

    May be accompanied by mental symptoms of varying degrees, such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, fear, nervousness and even hostility, but are not psychological disorders.

    Consultation

    Department of Medicine

    Gastroenterology

    Feeling of abdominal fullness, early satiety during meals, epigastric pain, burning sensation, timely consultation is recommended.

    Preparation

    Consultation: Registration, Preparation of Documents, Frequently Asked Questions

    Tips

  • Try to keep a record of the symptoms you have experienced and how long they have lasted before going to the doctor.
  • Prolonged indigestion may require a gastroenteroscopy.
  • Preparation Checklist

    Symptom list

    Pay particular attention to the time of onset of symptoms, special symptoms, etc.

  • Are there any symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, etc.? How long have they lasted?
  • Any change in bowel habits? For example, the number of bowel movements, the nature of the feces, etc.
  • Any recent eating of unclean food or drinking of unsanitary water?
  • Have you recently taken certain medications? Such as salicylates, glucocorticoids, antibiotics, etc.?
  • Have you had a gastroscopy or other related tests?
  • Medical History Checklist
  • Any previous intestinal diseases?
  • Have family members experienced similar symptoms?
  • Checklist

    Test results in the last six months, which can be brought to the doctor’s office

  • Gastroscopy, colonoscopy
  • ¹³C, ¹⁴C urea breath test
  • Routine blood test, routine stool test, blood biochemistry
  • Abdominal ultrasonography, abdominal CT examination
  • Medication list

    Medication used in the last 3 months, if available in boxes or packages, bring with you to the doctor’s office

  • Acid suppressants: omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole, famotidine
  • Gastric mucosal protectants: bismuth potassium citrate, colloidal bismuth pectin, aluminum thiosulfate
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: aspirin, clopidogrel, ibuprofen, indomethacin
  • Glucocorticoids: prednisone, methylprednisone, hydrocortisone, dexamethasone
  • Gastric stimulants: domperidone, mosapride
  • Diagnosis

    Diagnosis is based on

    Medical history

  • Frequent anxiety and nervousness in general.
  • Family history of the disease.
  • Clinical manifestations

    The main manifestations are postprandial fullness, early satiety, epigastric pain and burning sensation.

    Laboratory Tests

    Blood tests
  • Blood routine: to understand the level of red blood cells and white blood cells, to determine the presence of anemia and to exclude infectious gastroenteritis.
  • Blood biochemistry: blood biochemistry test to understand the function of liver, gallbladder and pancreas, to exclude the abnormal function of liver, gallbladder and pancreas.
  • Stool test
  • Detect whether there are red blood cells in the feces to determine whether there is gastrointestinal bleeding.
  • 3 days before the test, abstain from eating meat and animal blood, and abstain from taking iron and vitamin C.
  • Helicobacter pylori test
  • Urea breath test is one of the “gold standard” methods for detecting Helicobacter pylori, and it is non-invasive, highly accurate, and widely used in clinical practice.
  • The principle is that radioactive ¹³C, ¹⁴C-labeled urea (taken orally) is broken down by the urease enzyme produced by H. pylori, resulting in the production and exhaling of CO2, and the presence of H. pylori infection is determined by measuring the concentration of CO2.
  • Endoscopy

  • Endoscopy is used to rule out organic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, and is characterized by safety, reliability, and other features that allow direct observation of pathological changes in the gastric mucosa.
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  • Gastroscopy can also be performed at the same time by taking diseased tissues for pathologic examination and Helicobacter pylori testing.
  • You should not eat anything or drink water at least 6 hours before the examination. If you have removable dentures, please remove them before the examination. Generally 2 hours after the examination before eating water, warm and cool fluid or semi-fluid is appropriate, avoid eating stimulating food, later return to normal.

  • Imaging examination
  • Gastrointestinal barium meal examination can show the roughness of the lesion mucosa, which is helpful in confirming the differential diagnosis.
  • Bowel preparation should be carried out as prescribed by the doctor before the examination.
  • Fasting should be started 6 to 12 hours before the examination, and water fasting should be started 4 hours before the examination.

    Differential diagnosis

  • Gastric cancer
  • Similarities: Both may present with symptoms such as decreased appetite, epigastric discomfort, fullness, and anemia. X-ray signs of a few gastric sinus gastritis are also very similar to gastric cancer.
  • Differences: Differential diagnosis can be made by endoscopy and tissue biopsy.

  • Peptic ulcer
  • Similarity: chronic epigastric pain and other symptoms can occur.
  • Difference: Peptic ulcer is characterized by regular and periodic pain in the upper abdomen, while functional dyspepsia pain is rarely regular and is characterized by dyspeptic symptoms. It can be differentiated by endoscopy.

    Treatment

    General treatment

    Diet modification
  • Frequency of diet
  • Functional dyspepsia requires small, frequent meals to avoid eating large amounts of food at once to increase the burden on the digestive tract.
  • It is recommended to eat smaller meals, up to 6 meals per day.

    Dietary precautions

    Avoid oily, stimulating and gas-producing foods, and choose foods that are easy to digest and rich in protein and vitamins.

    Dietary taboos

    It is necessary to prohibit drinking alcohol, coffee and strong tea, etc. during the treatment.

    Others

    Medication management

    Need to stop taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, if you need to take, please consult your doctor or pharmacist.

    Medication

  • Medication is the mainstay of treatment for functional dyspepsia.
  • Drugs that reduce visceral sensitivity, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine inhibitors, inhibitors of gastric acid secretion, gastric mucosal protectors, gastrointestinal motility enhancers, regulators of intestinal flora, and antispasmodics are usually prescribed.
  • Patients who experience significant mental or emotional depression and anxiety are treated with antidepressants and anxiolytics.
  • Special note: All medications should be used as prescribed by a physician and should not be adjusted in dosage or discontinued on their own.

  • Drugs to reduce visceral sensitization
  • Opioids: can reduce visceral pain and effectively inhibit gastrointestinal motility.
  • 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonists: common drugs include ondansetron, which can effectively inhibit gastrointestinal hypersensitivity.
  • Alpha-adrenergic drugs: can effectively increase intestinal compliance and improve abdominal pain and other related symptoms.

  • Inhibition of gastric acid secretion
  • Application of drugs to inhibit gastric acid secretion aims to relieve pain, promote ulcer healing and prevent complications.
  • Drugs to inhibit gastric acid secretion include proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole, rabeprazole, lansoprazole, epprazole and so on; H2 receptor blockers such as cimetidine, ranitidine, famotidine and so on.

    Gastric mucosa protective agents

    Protective drugs for gastric mucosa include aluminum preparation and bismuth agent, which can form high viscosity sol under acidic environment and produce strong affinity to the ulcer surface, forming a strong protective film on the surface of gastric mucosa, which has good therapeutic effect on peptic ulcer and chronic inflammation.

  • Drugs to promote gastrointestinal dynamics
  • It can improve the symptoms of epigastric fullness associated with meals.
  • Commonly used drugs include domperidone and mosapride.
  • Need to be taken before meals.
  • Adverse reactions such as diarrhea and abdominal pain may occur, which can usually be relieved on their own after stopping the drug.

  • Intestinal Flora Regulators
  • The main way to regulate intestinal flora is to take oral probiotics. Probiotics can correct the intestinal flora imbalance and have a certain effect on functional gastrointestinal diseases.
  • At present, the main commonly used ones are Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus cereus.

    Antispasmodics

    Scopolamine is an anticholinergic acting on M cholinergic receptors, with obvious peripheral anticholinergic effects, which can relax smooth muscle and effectively improve intestinal spasm.

  • Antidepressant, anxiety treatment
  • People with obvious psychiatric and psychological disorders can choose antipsychotic drug treatment as prescribed by the doctor, and should be adhered to for at least 3 to 6 months.
  • Drugs used for anti-anxiety mainly include selective 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), 5-hydroxytryptamine-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI), tricyclic antidepressants, newer anxiolytics, benzodiazepines, and so on.

    SSRIs

    Sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, citalopram, escitalopram.

    SNRIs

    Venlafaxine, duloxetine, desvenlafaxine, milnacipran, levomilnacipran.

    Tricyclic antidepressants

    Clomipramine, doxepin, amitriptyline, promethazine.

    Newer anxiolytics

    Buspirone, Tandospirone.

    Anti-anxiety Chinese medicines

    Free San, Ning Shen An Zhi Tablets, Xie Yu An Shen Granules, Free Pills, Zhu Sha An Shen Pills.

    Other Classes

    Benzodiazepines, Glutamine, etc.

  • Psychotherapy
  • Effects: It can significantly reduce anxiety, depression and other emotions, which in turn can improve gastrointestinal symptoms.
  • Commonly used methods: mainly psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy, thought therapy and hypnotherapy.

    Prognosis

    Cure

    Repeated, intermittent episodes are possible, and it is generally believed that the heavier the psychosocial burden and the more skeptical the person is, the less likely the symptoms will disappear.

    Harmfulness

    Functional dyspepsia can be recurrent and interfere with normal life and work.

    Daily

    Daily management

  • Functional dyspepsia should be managed in a number of ways in daily life.
  • Eat regularly, have meals on time, do not overeat, and may eat small, frequent meals.
  • Do not eat spicy, fried, raw and cold foods or hot foods, such as chili peppers, barbecue, doughnuts, etc.
  • Do not eat unwashed fruits and vegetables and spoiled food.
  • Prohibit smoking and drinking.
  • Maintain a good state of mind and reduce the frequency and intensity of psycho-emotional stress.

  • Prevention
  • Maintain a positive and optimistic state of mind and avoid prolonged exposure to adverse emotions such as anxiety and depression.
  • Adopt good eating habits and avoid starving or overeating.
  • If you are infected with Helicobacter pylori and meet the indications for treatment, you need timely treatment.