“First Do No Harm”: Adverse Events from Pharmaceutical Treatment of Gastroparesis and Dyspepsia

Excerpt

Dyspepsia, a symptom that impacts at least 10% of Americans, can be troubling to disabling, impairing work and relationships [1]. Dyspepsia refers to a chronic or recurrent upper gastrointestinal symptom complex presumed to arise from the gastroduodenum rather than the esophagus; epigastric pain or discomfort, fullness after meals, or inability to finish a normal-sized meal (early satiety), and nausea with or without vomiting all are dyspeptic symptoms that can negatively impact the quality of life. If delayed gastric emptying accompanies these symptoms, a diagnostic label of gastroparesis is usually applied [2]. Many other underlying causes of dyspepsia need to be considered, from peptic ulceration including Helicobacter pylori infection to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), biliary tract disease, and rarely esophagogastric cancers, but the most frequent explanation encountered in practice is functional dyspepsia [1]. …