Gastric Electrical Stimulation for Treatment of Refractory Gastroparesis: the Current Approach to Management

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Gastroparesis is one of the more challenging entities in the landscape of gastroenterology, posing difficulties for both patients and physicians with regard to effective management and therapies. In this article, we reviewed various gastroparesis treatment options, with an emphasis on gastric electrical stimulation (GES). RECENT FINDINGS: GES has demonstrated a significant reduction of cardinal symptoms in refractory gastroparetic patients, particularly nausea and vomiting, across multiple studies. However, GES has not been shown to conclusively decrease gastric emptying time in these patients. Such finding has led the investigators to analyze the impact of combining GES with pyloroplasty. While this treatment pathway is nascent, its results thus far reveal an amplified improvement of gastroparesis symptomatology in addition to significant reduction of gastric transit, compared to GES by itself. SUMMARY: Limited treatment choices are available for refractory gastroparesis. Combining GES with pyloroplasty holds promise but requires further assessment in large-scale trials to fully evaluate the risks and benefits.