Delayed gastric emptying in dyspeptic chronic hemodialysis patients

Hemodialysis patients frequently experience such dyspeptic symptoms as nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, early satiety, and anorexia. Gastroparesis might be a cause of malnutrition, and parameters of gastric emptying are inversely correlated with serum albumin levels. The aim of the present study is to determine whether delayed gastric emptying is related to dyspeptic symptoms. In 54 hemodialysis patients, a standardized history for dyspeptic symptoms was taken. In addition, gastric emptying for solids was measured in 26 patients, using the (13)C-octanoic acid breath test. There was a high prevalence of dysmotility-like dyspepsia in the hemodialyzed population. A significant difference in gastric emptying between dyspeptic hemodialysis patients and healthy volunteers and between dyspeptic and nondyspeptic hemodialysis patients was shown. There was a significant correlation between gastric emptying and dysmotility-like dyspepsia. Serum albumin level inversely correlated with gastric emptying. In conclusion, there is a high prevalence of dysmotility-like dyspepsia in hemodialysis patients. Dyspeptic patients have significantly delayed gastric emptying compared with both healthy volunteers and nondyspeptic patients.