Chronic opioids in gastroparesis: Relationship with gastrointestinal symptoms, healthcare utilization and employment

Table 4 Symptom Severity as assessed with Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Symptoms questionnaire; comparison between gastroparesis patients on chronic opioids and patients with no opioid use

GI symptom	GpCO (n = 43)	GpNO (n = 158)	P value
Nausea	4.09 ± 0.12	3.41 ± 0.12	0.011
Retching	2.86 ± 0.25	1.98 ± 0.14	0.003
Vomiting	2.93 ± 0.24	2.07 ± 0.15	0.011
Stomach fullness	3.84 ± 0.18	3.59 ± 0.11	0.254
Early satiety	4.17 ± 0.19	3.57 ± 0.12	0.004
Post prandial fullness	4.14 ± 0.18	3.63 ± 0.11	0.022
Loss of appetite	3.64 ± 0.21	3.04 ± 0.13	0.039
Bloating	3.67 ± 0.19	3.36 ± 0.13	0.396
Abdominal distension	2.95 ± 0.25	3.01 ± 0.14	0.753
Upper AP	3.86 ± 0.20	2.93 ± 0.13	0.001
Upper abdominal discomfort	3.74 ± 0.19	3.09 ± 0.13	0.031
Lower AP	2.67 ± 0.27	2.38 ± 0.13	0.315
Lower abdominal discomfort	2.79 ± 0.25	2.38 ± 0.13	0.130
Heartburn during day	2.55 ± 0.27	1.89 ± 0.13	0.032
Heartburn on lying down	2.76 ± 0.28	1.94 ± 0.14	0.008
Chest discomfort during day	2.42 ± 0.20	1.83 ± 0.12	0.018
Chest discomfort at night	2.40 ± 0.23	1.61 ± 0.13	0.003
Regurgitation or reflux during day	2.77 ± 0.25	2.18 ± 0.13	0.040
Regurgitation or reflux on lying down	2.64 ± 0.28	2.21 ± 0.14	0.120
Bitter/acid/sour taste	2.79 ± 0.27	2.11 ± 0.14	0.028
Constipation	2.92 ± 0.30	2.63 ± 0.14	0.296
Diarrhea	1.80 ± 0.30	1.79 ± 0.14	0.891
Total Symptom Severity Score	68.40 ± 2.82	56.63 ± 1.77	0.001

¹Results with non-normal distribution. Results expressed as median with interquartile range, and percentage as appropriate. AP: Abdominal pain; BMs: Bowel movements; GpCO: Gastroparesis patients on chronic opioids; GpNO: Gastroparesis patients not on opioids.