Correlation Analysis between Gastric Emptying Measured by Ultrasonography and Spleen Qi Deficiency Pattern in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

Baek, Seung-hwan; Kim, Jin-sung

The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine > Volume 36(4); 2015 > Article

Article

The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine 2015;36(4): 527-546.

기능성 소화불량 환자에서 초음파로 측정한 위 배출능과 脾氣虛證 간의 상관성 분석

백승환, 김진성

경희대학교 한방병원 소화기내과

Correlation Analysis between Gastric Emptying Measured by Ultrasonography and Spleen Qi Deficiency Pattern in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

Seung-hwan Baek, Jin-sung Kim

Dept. of Gastroenterology, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital

Correspondence

Jin-sung Kim ,Tel: 02-958-8895, Email: oridoc@khu.ac.kr

Received: November 27, 2015, Accepted: December 30, 2015, Published online: December 31, 2015.

ABSTRACT

Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between gastric emptying measured by ultrasonography and Korean medical instruments of diagnosis and assessment in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. Among the subgroups of FD, postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) is related to gastric motility disorder.

Methods:
Ten patients with FD and particularly with PDS as well as 10 healthy controls were enrolled in the study from September to November 2015. The gastric emptying shown as the half-life of gastric volume (T_1/2) was measured by ultrasonography. The severities of spleen qi deficiency and dyspepsia symptoms were assessed by a spleen qi deficiency questionnaire (SQDQ) and the Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean version (NDI-K), respectively. In addition, a food retention questionnaire (FRQ), a damum questionnaire (DQ), a cold and heat questionnaire (CHQ), a deficiency and excess questionnaire (DEQ), and a visual analogue scale (VAS) of distention and fullness were completed by every participant.

Results:
In comparison with the control group, the FD group showed significantly higher scores for the SQDQ, NDI-K, FRQ, DQ, DEQ, and VAS of distention and fullness. T_1/2 was also significantly higher in the FD group than in the control group. There were significant correlations between T_1/2 and the SQDQ score. However, there were no significant correlations between T_1/2 and other questionnaire scores except for one item of the NDI-K.

Conclusions:
According to these findings, it was determined that measuring gastric emptying using ultrasonography could be a quantitative indicator to diagnose spleen qi deficiency in FD patients.

Key words: functional dyspepsia, postprandial distress syndrome, gastric emptying, ultrasonography, spleen qi deficiency