• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.785-794
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• 2005

Little is known concerning the pathophysiology and symptomatology of gastric dysmotility of patients who have sought treatment in eastern traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate gastric electrical activity and clinical characteristics between gastroparesis and non-gastroparetic functional dyspepsia(FD) and assess the necessity to distinguish them for eastern traditional medical treatment. 60 patients were surveyed by questionnaire. Gastric electrical activity was recorded and analyzed using electrogas-trography. Patients were divided into gastroparesis and non-gastroparetic FD by 1.0 of power ratio. Healthy persons were used as reference. Postprandial normogastria of gastroparesis decreased and that of non-gastroparetic functional dyspepsia increased compared before and after meals. Suggested causes of onset were the meat diets that most patients were on in the gastroparesis group, and that drugs that patients in the non-gastroparetic FD group were taking. Distribution of main symptom was equally regular in patients with gastroparesis, but patients with non-gastroparetic FD showed mainly upper abdominal pain and fullness. Values for the gastroparesis group were double those for the non-gastroparesis FD group in frequency of upper GI endosopic examination. Results suggest that effective application of eastern traditional medical treatment requires that first a clear distinction be made in state of gastric dysmotility and clinical characteristics of gastroparesis and non-gastroparesis FD when treating dyspepsia.