J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2023 Jul 1;77(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000003806.Epub 2023 Apr 25.

James W Varni ^1 2, Bruno P Chumpitazi ^3 4, Liz Febo-Rodriguez ⁵, Robert J Shulman ^3 4

Author information

¹From the Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

²the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

³the Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

⁴Children's Nutrition Research Center, Agriculture Research Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Houston, TX.

⁵the Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami, Miami, FL.

Abstract

Objectives: The primary objective was to compare the patient-reported gastrointestinal symptoms profiles of pediatric patients with gastroparesis to pediatric patients with 1 of 7 other functional gastrointestinal disorders and organic gastrointestinal diseases using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales.

Methods: The gastrointestinal symptoms profiles of 64 pediatric patients with gastroparesis who manifested abnormal gastric retention based on gastric emptying scintigraphy testing were compared to 582 pediatric patients with 1 of 7 physician-diagnosed gastrointestinal disorders (functional abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional constipation, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis). The PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales encompass 10 individual multi-item scales which measure stomach pain, stomach discomfort when eating, food and drink limits, trouble swallowing, heartburn and reflux, nausea and vomiting, gas and bloating, constipation, blood in poop, and diarrhea/fecal incontinence, with an overall total gastrointestinal symptoms score.

Results: The gastrointestinal symptoms profile analysis identified significantly worse overall total gastrointestinal symptoms scores between pediatric patients with gastroparesis compared to all other gastrointestinal groups except for irritable bowel syndrome (most P s < 0.001), with significant differences for stomach discomfort when eating compared to all 7 other gastrointestinal groups (most P s < 0.001). Nausea and vomiting were significantly worse for gastroparesis compared to all other gastrointestinal groups except for functional dyspepsia (all P s < 0.001).

Conclusions: Pediatric patients with gastroparesis self-reported significantly worse overall total gastrointestinal symptoms compared to all other gastrointestinal diagnostic groups except for irritable bowel syndrome, with stomach discomfort when eating and nausea and vomiting symptoms exhibiting the greatest differences compared to most gastrointestinal diagnostic groups.