This study is performed to assess the efficacy and outcomes of Gastric Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy "G-POEM" in patients presenting with gastroparesis.
Gastroparesis is a chronic digestive disorder best defined as severe nausea, vomiting, bloating, and abdominal pain in the setting of objectively delayed gastric emptying without mechanical gastric outlet obstruction. The most common etiology is idiopathic. Some of the identifiable etiologies include diabetes and post-surgical. Endoscopic techniques to reduce pyloric tone mainly consisted of Botulinum toxin injection but failed to demonstrate significant symptom improvement compared to placebo. Another endoscopic method was transpyloric stenting which yielded symptomatic relief but is prone to stent migration and therefore is unlikely to provide a viable long term solution. Surgical pyloroplasty has shown to be effective in reducing gastroparesis symptoms, but is associated with a risk of leakage and potential further narrowing of gastric outlet. It also carried all the risks of general anesthesia and requires advanced laparoscopic suturing skills. Therefore, the development of a less invasive reliable method of improving gastric emptying is highly desirable. An endoscopic submucosal myotomy technique may be applied to divide the pyloric sphincter without surgical access. Such endoscopic technique may provide the benefits of a natural orifice procedure, and improve gastric emptying in gastroparetic patients. Gastric Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (G-POEM) is feasible and can be performed by using techniques similar to those of esophageal per-oral endoscopic myotomy. Endoscopists who are experienced in esophageal per-oral endoscopic myotomy should be able to perform G-POEM because both use similar techniques, principles, and equipment. The investigators theorize that a subset of patients with refractory gastroparesis, diabetic gastroparesis or post-surgical gastroparesis, may respond to endoscopic pyloromyotomy.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
80
Patients will receive Per Oral Endoscopic Gastric Myotomy for Gastroparesis.
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Efficacy of the G-POEM
Improvement in patients symptoms as evaluated by the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. The GCSI consists of three sub-scales: nausea/vomiting (three items), post-prandial fullness/early satiety (four items) and bloating (two items). Each item is rated on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (none) to 5 (very severe). Subscales are the average of different sets of items and are reported as a number between 0 to 5. Efficacy will be defined as a decrease in the GCSI score average below 2.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Patient symptom improvement
Improvement in patients symptoms will be assessed using symptom severity score at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Symptoms will be recorded with a standardized gastroesophageal symptom assessment tool using a scale of 0-4 with higher ordinal values representing the greater frequency of symptoms for nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) symptoms.
Time frame: Up to 1 year
Delayed gastric emptying using a Gastric emptying study
Assess efficacy of the G-POEM in the treatment of gastroparesis using gastric emptying study to assess delayed gastric emptying by measuring the average percentage of 4-hour gastric retention of a solid meal.
Time frame: 3 months
Imapct of the G-POEM on patients' Quality of life
Improvement in patient's quality of life as reflected by Short Form 36 questionnaire at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the procedure. The SF-36 general health questionnaire consists of 36 questions evaluating the patient's perception of their quality of life (QoL) in the following eight subscales: physical functioning (PF), role limitations due to physical problems (RP), role limitations due to emotional problems (RE), energy/fatigue (EF), emotional well-being (EW), social functioning (SF), bodily pain (BP) and general health (GH). Subscale scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best and 0 being the worst quality of life.
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Time frame: Up to 1 year
Efficacy of the G-POEM
Improvement in patients symptoms as evaluated by gastroparesis specific symptom assessment (PAGI-SYM questionnaire). PAGI-SYM is a 20-item self-reported questionnaire which evaluates the symptom severity of upper gastrointestinal disorders across six subscales (nausea/vomiting, fullness/early satiety, bloating, upper abdominal pain, lower abdominal pain and heartburn/regurgitation). These are summarized by individual subscale scores and a total score. Each item is rated on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (none) to 5 (very severe). Subscales are the average of different sets of items and are reported as a number between 0 to 5.
Time frame: 1 year