• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.42-62
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• 2011

Objective: This study was designed to identify and explore the pathological patterns of functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. We also evaluated the usefulness of the Pattern Identification Questionnaire by comparing it with other assessment tools for FD. Methods: We recruited 97 FD patients based on the Rome III criteria for FD diagnosis. The pathological patterns of the subjects were determined by the Pattern Identification Questionnaire. Their dyspepsia-related symptoms were assessed using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire (GIS) and the Pyeongwi-san (Pingwei-san) Patternization Questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and quality of life with the Functional Dyspepsia-Related Quality of Life (FD-QoL) Questionnaire. Tongue coating was measured by the Digital Tongue Diagnosis System (DTDS). Results: The male to female ratio was 1:1.1, and the forties and fifties age groups were largest in number. The spleen deficiency and phlegm-dampness pattern was the most common pattern found among the FD patients. No significant differences in the GIS, BDI, FD-QoL, and DTDS scores were found among the five pattern types. All pattern types showed significant correlation with GIS, Pyeongwi-san Patternization Questionnaire, and FD-QoL scores. Conclusions: Pattern Identification Questionnaire can not only identify the pathological pattern types of FD patients but also evaluate the severity of their symptoms. Compared to conventional assessment tools for FD, it could enable a more dynamic evaluation of FD patients reflecting the severity of dyspeptic symptoms and the quality of life. Further studies on the Pattern Identification of FD patients are anticipated in order to improve the diagnosis and therapy for Korean FD patients.