Background: Whether mucosal inflammation affects gastric motility in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) is controversial. Few reports discuss gastric motility in relation to histologic gastritis. We examined the relation between gastric motility and histologic gastritis in Japanese patients with FD.
Methods: Subjects were 198 patients examined by ultrasonography (US) and endoscopic biopsy. Histologic gastritis scores were compared to three US gastric motility indices: the motility index (MI), gastroduodenal reflux index (RI), and gastric emptying rate (GER). In cases of gastritis with a high inflammation score (score 2-3), the macrophages in biopsy specimens were counted and compared to the motility indices.
Results: Of the 198 patients, 159 were Helicobacter pylori positive. Comparison of 39 age-and sex-matched H. pylori-positive and 39 H. pylori-negative patients showed that the MI was lower in H. pylori-positive patients (6.78+/-2.17 vs. 7.63+/-2.35, P<0.05), and the RI was higher (5.64+/-4.70 vs. 2.13+/-2.58, P<0.01). Among H. pylori-positive patients, US revealed a decreased MI in patients with a high inflammation score (score 2-3) in the antrum compared with the MI of those with a low inflammation score (score 0-1) (6.52+/-2.38 vs. 7.82+/-1.89, P<0.01). The number of macrophages was not associated with motility indices in patients with a high inflammation score.
Conclusion: Histologic gastritis with severe inflammation may inhibit gastric motility.