Agreement of gastroenterologists in traditional Chinese medical differential diagnosis of functional dyspepsia compared with traditional Chinese medical practitioners: A prospective, multicenter study. Issue 7 (22nd June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Song, Jun; Yang, Ling; Su, Shuai; Piao, Mei Yu; Li, Bao Li; Yu, Yue; Yu, Wen Yong; Zhang, Mei; Liang, Lie Xin; Zuo, Guo Wen; Tang, Zhi Min; Long, Yan Qin; Chen, Xiao Li; Dai, Ning; Mo, Jian Ling; Wang, Rong Quan; Chen, Jing; Hou, Xiao Hua
• Is Part Of: Journal of digestive diseases. Volume 21:Issue 7(2020:Jul.)
• Page Start: 399
• Page End: 405
• Publication Date: 2020-06-22
• Subjects: functional dyspepsia -- differential diagnosis -- epigastric pain syndrome -- postprandial distress syndrome -- traditional Chinese medicine; Digestive organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; 616.3
• DOI: 10.1111/1751-2980.12873
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-2972

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: To compare the performance of gastroenterologists major in western medicine in diagnosing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types of functional dyspepsia (FD), postprandial distress (PDS) and epigastric pain syndromes (EPS) based on the main symptoms, with that of traditional TCM practitioners in outpatient services. Methods: Patients with PDS or EPS were enrolled in the study from six tertiary referral centers between January 2016 and December 2017. Their symptoms were first diagnosed by medical doctors, and then by the TCM practitioners. The diagnostic agreement between the gastroenterologists and the TCM practitioners was calculated. The patients' data and their types of FD syndrome were collected and analyzed. Results: In total 160 patients, including 81 with PDS and 79 with EPS were enrolled. The total diagnostic consistency rate between the gastroenterologists and TCM practitioners was 86.3%, while that of PDS and EPS was 85.2% and 87.3%, respectively. The most common type of PDS diagnosed by TCM practitioners was liver‐stomach disharmony syndrome (33.3%), spleen deficiency and qi‐stagnation syndrome (33.3%), while that for EPS was liver‐stomach disharmony syndrome (36.7%). Conclusions: Gastroenterologists had a high diagnostic agreement about the types of FD syndromes based on differential diagnosis of the main symptoms, compared with TCM practitioners. This may aid gastroenterologists in selecting Chinese medicine for FD‐based on syndrome differentiation.