Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia in Korea

Abstract

Background/Aims: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic upper gastrointestinal symptom complex that routine diagnostic work-up, such as endoscopy, blood laboratory analysis, or radiological examination, fails to identify a cause for. It is highly prevalent in the Korean population, and its response to the various available therapeutic strategies is only modest because of the heterogeneous nature of its pathogenesis. We constituted a guidelines development committee to review the existing guidelines on the management of FD.Methods: This committee drafted statements and conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of various studies, guidelines, and randomized control trials. External review was also conducted by selected experts. These clinical practice guidelines for FD were developed based on evidence recently accumulated with the revised version of FD guidelines released in 2011 by the Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility.Results: These guidelines apply to adults with chronic symptoms of FD and include the diagnostic role of endoscopy, <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> screening, and systematic review and meta-analyses of the various treatment options for FD (proton pump inhibitors, <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> eradication, and tricyclic antidepressants), especially according to the FD subtype.Conclusions: The purpose of these new guidelines is to aid understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of FD, and the targets of the guidelines are clinicians, healthcare workers at the forefront of patient care, patients, and medical students. The guidelines will continue to be revised and updated periodically.