Clinical features and pathophysiology of belching disorders

The symptomatic characteristics and psychosocial factors of belching were analyzed through questionnaire, and the pathophysiology of belch was studied with the combined methods of high-resolution manometry and impedance (HRM-IMP). 21 consecutively-enrolled patients with repeated belching, were conducted a questionnaire survey, and the data were analyzed with Pearson correlation analysis and exact propability method. 10 patients were performed HRM-IMP. 20 patients met the diagnostic criteria of belch, among who 17 cases had overlapped symptoms, and the functional dyspepsia was the most common, followed by gastroesophageal reflux disease; 16 patients experienced mental stimulation or negative events; 12 cases existed anxiety and (or) depression; 8 cases had neurotic personality. The number of the overlapped symptoms was associated with the anxiety status, while the belch severity had nothing to do with the anxiety/depression status. Among the 10 patients who accepted HRM-IMP, 9 existed the esophageal motility dysfunction, and 9 had supra-gastric belching. Belch had a variety of clinical manifestations, related to the mood changes and the environmental stress, and normally was combined with the abnormalities of psychology and personality traits. The belch patients normally experienced the esophageal motility disorders, among which the typical pattern was supra-gastric belching.