Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a topic covered in the Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics.

To view the entire topic, please or purchase a subscription.

The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics helps you diagnose and treat hundreds of medical conditions. Consult clinical recommendations from a resource that has been trusted on the wards for 50+ years. Explore these free sample topics:

Washington Manual

-- The first section of this topic is shown below --

General Principles

Definition

Gastroparesis consists of abnormally delayed emptying of stomach contents into the small bowel in the absence of gastric outlet obstruction or ulceration, usually as a result of damage to the nerves or smooth muscle involved in gastric emptying.

Etiology

  • Mechanical obstruction should always be excluded.
  • In addition to evaluating for acute metabolic derangements and potential offending medications (narcotics, anticholinergic agents, chemotherapeutic agents, glucagon-like peptide-1, and amylin analogs), patients with gastroparesis should be screened for diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, neurologic disease, prior gastric or bariatric surgery, and autoimmune disorders (e.g., scleroderma).
  • If no predisposing cause is identified, gastroparesis is designated idiopathic.

-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please or purchase a subscription --