Rumination syndrome. A review article

Rumination syndrome is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by effortless postprandial regurgitation of ingested food into the mouth. An unperceived postprandial contraction of the abdominal wall could be a key mechanism. In those patients, retrograde flow of the ingested gastric content into the mouth is produced due to a simultaneous combination of elevated intra-abdominal pressure and negative intrathoracic pressure. The estimated prevalence is around 2% in the general adult population. The main clinical characteristics include: a) early postprandial regurgitation, b) the effortlessly regurgitated material is similar to the ingested food, c) the regurgitated material is spit out or swallowed again. The clinical diagnosis of rumination syndrome relies on the clinical criteria. High resolution esophageal manometry, ideally including impedance monitoring, can be an important adjunct for making the clinical diagnosis. Its management is based on instruction as to the nature of the pathology, education in postprandial diaphragmatic breathing, and the assessment of possible psychiatric comorbidity. Baclofen use is reserved for second-line treatment in patients with refractory symptoms.

Meal composition influences postprandial sensations independently of valence and gustation

BACKGROUND

Palatability of meals with identical composition has been shown to influence postprandial sensations. Our aim was to determine to what extent meal composition influences postprandial sensations independently of palatability.

METHODS

Randomized, crossover, double-blind trial comparing the postprandial responses to a low-fat vs a high-fat test meal, with the same physical and organoleptic characteristics (taste, smell, texture, color, and temperature). The test meal consisted in 150 g hummus containing either 17.7 g fat (low-fat) or 22.3 g fat (high-fat), 19.8 g toasts, 120 mL water and 50 g apple puree. In 12 non-obese healthy men, palatability, homeostatic sensations (hunger/satiety, fullness) and hedonic sensations (digestive well-being, mood) were measured on 10 cm scales before and during the 60-min postprandial period. Comparisons between meals were performed with a two-way repeated measures ANCOVA with premeal data as co-variate.

KEY RESULTS

Both test meals were rated equally palatable (palatability scores 3.8 ± 0.3 low-fat, 3.3 ± 0.2 high-fat; P = .156). As compared to the high-fat meal, the low-fat meal induced more satisfaction (meal effect on well-being F(1,21) = 4.92; P = .038) and tended to improve mood (meal effect F(1,21) = 3.02; P = .064), and this was associated with a non-significant decrease in satiety (meal effect F(1,21) = 2.29; P = .145) and fullness (meal effect F(1,21) = 1.57; P = .224).

CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES

The composition of meals with equal palatability influences postprandial satisfaction, even without significant impact on homeostatic sensations, although an effect on homeostatic sensations has not been excluded. These conditioning factors may have clinical implications in patients with impaired meal tolerance or meal-related symptoms.

Anxiety can significantly explain bolus perception in the context of hypotensive esophageal motility: Results of a large multicenter study in asymptomatic individuals

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have not been able to correlate manometry findings with bolus perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate correlation of different variables, including traditional manometric variables (at diagnostic and extreme thresholds), esophageal shortening, bolus transit, automated impedance manometry (AIM) metrics and mood with bolus passage perception in a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals.

METHODS

High resolution manometry (HRM) was performed in healthy individuals from nine centers. Perception was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale. Anxiety was evaluated using Hospitalized Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). Subgroup analysis was also performed classifying studies into normal, hypotensive, vigorous, and obstructive patterns.

KEY RESULTS

One hundred fifteen studies were analyzed (69 using HRM and 46 using high resolution impedance manometry (HRIM); 3.5% swallows in 9.6% of volunteers were perceived. There was no correlation of any of the traditional HRM variables, esophageal shortening, AIM metrics nor bolus transit with perception scores. There was no HRM variable showing difference in perception when comparing normal vs extreme values (percentile 1 or 99). Anxiety but not depression was correlated with perception. Among hypotensive pattern, anxiety was a strong predictor of variance in perception (R² up to .70).

CONCLUSION AND INFERENCES

Bolus perception is less common than abnormal motility among healthy individuals. Neither esophageal motor function nor bolus dynamics evaluated with several techniques seems to explain differences in bolus perception. Different mechanisms seem to be relevant in different manometric patterns. Anxiety is a significant predictor of bolus perception in the context of hypotensive motility.