The Rome III Classification of Dyspepsia: Will It Help Research?

A major change in the Rome III criteria relates to the condition previously called functional dyspepsia (FD). Rome I and Rome II defined FD as pain or discomfort centered in the upper abdomen without a definite structural or biochemical explanation. The condition was further sub-classified into ulcer-like or dysmotility-like dyspepsia. However, subsequent studies failed to show that single-symptoms are present in the vast majority of patients, and most symptoms failed to correlate with any physiological abnormalities. In Rome III, FD as a broad category was no longer considered useful in terms of research, but rather was defined by two new symptom entities, namely epigastric pain (epigastric pain syndrome) and meal-related symptoms (postprandial distress syndrome). We predict these changes will stimulate new research into the underlying pathophysiological disturbances, as well as impact the diagnosis and treatment of dyspepsia; the classification should advance the field, and we review the challenges ahead.