Indigestion overview: Difference between revisions
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People without risk factors for serious causes of dyspepsia usually do not need investigation beyond an office based clinical examination. | People without risk factors for serious causes of dyspepsia usually do not need investigation beyond an office based clinical examination. | ||
==Other Diagnostic Studies== | ===Other Diagnostic Studies=== | ||
People over the age 55 years and those with alarm features are usually investigated by [[esophagogastroduodenoscopy]] (EGD). In this painless investigation the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are examined through an endoscope passed down through the mouth. This will rule out [[peptic ulcer disease]], medication related ulceration, [[malignancy]] and other rarer causes. | People over the age 55 years and those with alarm features are usually investigated by [[esophagogastroduodenoscopy]] (EGD). In this painless investigation the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are examined through an endoscope passed down through the mouth. This will rule out [[peptic ulcer disease]], medication related ulceration, [[malignancy]] and other rarer causes. | ||
Revision as of 15:54, 21 March 2013
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Indigestion overview On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Indigestion overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
Indigestion is a term used to describe a feeling of fullness or discomfort during or after a meal. It can be accompanied by burning or pain in the upper stomach. It is a condition that is frequently caused by eating too fast, especially by eating high-fat foods quickly. There are many possible causes of indigestion, of which some are related to lifestyle.
The Rome III committee defined Indigestion as one or more of the following symptoms :
- Postprandial fullness (termed postprandial distress syndrome)
- Early satiation (meaning inability to finish a normal sized meal or postprandial fullness)
- Epigastric pain or burning (termed epigastric pain syndrome)
Discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen, early fullness while eating, bloating, sense of fullness after eating are the usual symptoms expressed by the patients. Sometimes indigestion is accompanied by heartburn which is a separate condition.
Historical Perspective
Indigestion is an old english word meaning lack of digestion. Dyspepsia symptoms have been recognized since the birth of medicine, however, the underlying pathogenesis of dyspepsia only began to be appreciated when Baillie in 1799 first described the anatomy and symptoms of gastric ulcer disease. The development of barium x-ray radiology, by Cannon in 1897, led to the clinical recognition of peptic ulcer disease and its relationship with its symptoms. Walter Alvarez at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN was the first to apply the term functional dyspepsia in 1916 to describe patients with ulcer-like symptoms and a normal X-ray.
Diagnosis
Laboratory Findings
People without risk factors for serious causes of dyspepsia usually do not need investigation beyond an office based clinical examination.
Other Diagnostic Studies
People over the age 55 years and those with alarm features are usually investigated by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). In this painless investigation the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are examined through an endoscope passed down through the mouth. This will rule out peptic ulcer disease, medication related ulceration, malignancy and other rarer causes.
People under the age of 55 years with no alarm features do not need EGD but are considered for investigation for peptic ulcer disease caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. Investigation for H.pylori infection is usually performed when there is a moderate to high prevalence of this infection in the local community or the person with dyspepsia has other risk factors for H. pylori infection, related for example to ethnicity or immigration from a high-prevalence area. If infection is confirmed it can usually be eradicated by medication.
Treatment
Prevention
Avoiding foods and situations that seem to cause it may help. Indigestion can be a sign of a more serious problem, seeing health care provider if it lasts for more than two weeks or if having severe pain or other symptoms is very important.
References