Dyspepsia of Unknown Origin: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Dyspepsia is a vague term for the nonspecific symptoms of upper abdominal discomfort, prolonged postprandial fullness or early satiety, nausea, vomiting, and upper abdominal bloating. Many common and accepted diseases and disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux and irritable bowel syndrome cause dyspepsia symptoms; these disorders should be identified and treated. However, many patients with dyspepsia symptoms have normal radiographic and endoscopic evaluations; in these patients, neuromuscular of functional disorders of the stomach ranging from gastric dysrhythmias to gastroparesis may be the cause of dyspepsia symptoms. A practical approach to the evaluation and treatment of dyspepsia symptoms attributed to gastric neuromuscular dysfunction of unknown origin is described.