Related Experiment Videos
Electrogastrography in non-ulcer dyspepsia
S Cucchiara1, G Riezzo, R Minella
1Department of Paediatrics, 2nd School of Medicine, University of Naples, Italy.
Insights
Children with unexplained upper gastrointestinal issues often have abnormal gastric electrical activity. Electrogastrography (EGG) can help diagnose these conditions, revealing irregularities in stomach rhythm and prolonged gastric emptying.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Neurogastroenterology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Recurrent upper intestinal dysfunction in children presents with symptoms like vomiting and epigastric pain.
- Conventional diagnostics like radiography and endoscopy often exclude structural abnormalities in these cases.
- Gastric electrical activity and emptying are key indicators of gastrointestinal function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gastric electrical activity and emptying in children with unexplained recurrent upper intestinal symptoms.
- To assess the utility of electrogastrography (EGG) and ultrasonography in diagnosing these pediatric patients.
- To identify potential biomarkers for upper gastrointestinal dysfunction in children.
Main Methods:
- Electrogastrography (EGG) recorded gastric electrical activity in 14 children and 10 controls.
- Gastric emptying time was measured using real-time ultrasonography in all subjects.
- Patients underwent radiography and endoscopy to rule out structural abnormalities.
Main Results:
- Patients exhibited significantly prolonged gastric emptying times compared to controls.
- Abnormal gastric electrical rhythms (tachygastria, bradygastria, arrhythmias) were prevalent in patients during both fasting and fed states.
- EGG analysis revealed reduced normal frequency activity and increased abnormal low and high frequencies in patients.
Conclusions:
- A high proportion of children with unexplained recurrent upper gastrointestinal symptoms show gastric electrical abnormalities.
- Electrogastrography (EGG) is a valuable diagnostic tool for assessing children with these functional gastrointestinal disorders.
- Abnormalities in gastric electrical activity and delayed gastric emptying are significant findings in this pediatric population.
Abstract:
Fasting and fed gastric electrical activity was recorded by cutaneous electrodes (electrogastrography) in 14 children with unexplained recurrent symptoms of upper intestinal dysfunction, and in 10 controls. The unexplained symptoms included vomiting, epigastric pain, fullness, and early satiety. Mean (SD) age was 7.0 (3) and 7.5 (2) years, respectively. Gastric emptying time of a solid-liquid meal was also measured by real time ultrasonography in all subjects (patients and controls). In all patients radiography and endoscopy excluded structural and focal abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract. Gastric emptying time was significantly more prolonged in patients than in controls. It was also found that there were appreciable irregularities of gastric electrical rhythm (tachygastria, bradygastria, flat line pattern, and mixed arrhythmia) in 12 fasting and 10 fed patients, whereas controls showed short and rare episodes of arrhythmia during both fasting and fed recording periods. The percentage distribution of the total electrogastrographic energy power across three frequency bands of electrical activity (low, normal, and high) showed that patients were different from controls both for reduced activity of normal frequency and for increased incidence of high and low abnormal frequencies. It is concluded that gastric electrical abnormalities are found in a high proportion of children with recurrent unexplained upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Electrogastrography can be a valuable tool in the assessment of these patients.