What is gastric retention and is it serious?

Gastric retention is a group of diseases caused by the prolonged retention of food in the stomach, which is usually not serious. The most common clinical cases of gastric retention are caused by the decrease of gastric digestive function due to various etiologies, such as functional dyspepsia, which is caused by the decrease of the mechanical peristaltic function of the stomach, resulting in the stomach not being able to digest food in a timely manner, leading to the retention of food in the stomach for too long, resulting in symptoms such as gastric distension, stomach pain, nausea, and desire to vomit. Another common category is diabetic gastroparesis, which is a systemic disease that can cause a decrease in gastric function. In this case, blood sugar should be managed well, and at the same time, the treatment can be combined with gastroprokinetic drugs.