Electrogastrography and gastric emptying scintigraphy are complementary for assessment of dyspepsia

We have tried to correlate abnormalities in electrogastrography (EGG) and gastric emptying (GE) with symptom severity in patients with functional dyspepsia. Seventy-two patients with functional dyspepsia underwent EGG, GE, and symptom severity quantitation. EGGs were assessed for dominant frequency (DF), percentage of time of DF in the 2 to 4 cpm range, and postprandial-fasting DF power ratio. Solid-phase GE scintigraphy was assessed for 2-hour percentage retention. Symptoms of upper abdominal discomfort, early satiety, postprandial abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia were graded as none (0), mild (1), moderate (2), and severe (3); the sum represented a total symptom score. The EGG was abnormal in 11 of 22 (50%) patients with delayed GE compared with 11 of 50 (22%) with normal GE (p < 0.025). The total symptom scores were higher in patients with both delayed GE and abnormal EGG compared with patients with normal GE and EGG, normal GE and abnormal EGG, and delayed GE and normal EGG. We conclude that EGG abnormalities are more common in dyspeptic patients with delayed GE. Patients with both delayed GE and abnormal EGG have more severe symptoms. Our results suggest that EGG and GE complement each other in correlating symptoms to gastric dysmotility.