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Effect of Gastric Electrical Stimulation on Nutritional Parameters in Gastroparesis Patients

Gastric electrical stimulation for gastroparesis improves symptoms and quality of life.

Gastroparesis can result in severe malnutrition and requires aggressive enteral or parenteral nutritional support. Researchers in Tennessee and Arkansas evaluated the effect of gastric electrical stimulation on nutritional status in 12 patients with drug-refractory gastroparesis. Patients underwent gastric stimulation with a temporary device for 2 weeks and then underwent permanent implantation if symptoms were reduced by >80% and gastric emptying improved by >35%.

At 12 months, compared with baseline measurements, gastrointestinal symptoms, overall nutritional status, weight, and body-mass index improved significantly with gastric electrical stimulation, (short-term follow-up). Serum albumin levels, cholesterol levels, and lymphocyte count also improved, although not significantly. During intermediate (1-2 years) and long-term (5 years) follow-up, weekly vomiting-frequency scores and symptom scores decreased significantly from baseline, but weight and body-mass index were not statistically changed. At long-term follow-up, patient assessments of overall and nutritional quality of life were improved. In 1 patient, the stimulation device was explanted by 1 year because of infection.

Comment: Gastric electrical stimulation improves symptoms and patient assessment of overall and nutritional quality of life. However, during long-term follow-up, although all assessed nutritional parameters had increased (including weight and body-mass index), no statistically significant improvement was noted in any objective feature; the small sample size might have accounted for the lack of statistical significance. Further studies of this device are warranted in this challenging group of patients.

— Stuart Sherman, MD

Published in Journal Watch Gastroenterology October 28, 2003

Citation(s):

Abell T et al. Gastric electrical stimulation for gastroparesis improves nutritional parameters at short, intermediate, and long-term follow-up. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 2003 Jul/Aug; 27:277-81.

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