Asian consensus report on functional dyspepsia

Background and aim: Environmental factors such as food, lifestyle and prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection are widely different in Asian countries compared with the West, and physiological functions and genetic factors of Asians may also be different from those of Westerners. Establishing an Asian consensus for functional dyspepsia is crucial in order to attract attention to such data from Asian countries, to articulate the experience and views of Asian experts, and to provide a relevant guide on management of functional dyspepsia for primary care physicians working in Asia.

Methods: Consensus team members were selected from Asian experts and consensus development was carried out by using a modified Delphi method. Consensus teams collected published papers on functional dyspepsia especially from Asia and developed candidate consensus statements based on the generated clinical questions. At the first face-to-face meeting, each statement was reviewed and e-mail voting was done twice. At the second face-to-face meeting, final voting on each statement was done using a keypad voting system. A grade of evidence and strength of recommendation were applied to each statement according to the method of the GRADE Working Group.

Results: Twenty-nine consensus statements were finalized, including seven for definition and diagnosis, five for epidemiology, nine for pathophysiology, and eight for management. Algorithms for diagnosis and management of functional dyspepsia were added.

Conclusions: This consensus developed by Asian experts shows distinctive features of functional dyspepsia in Asia and will provide a guide to the diagnosis and management of functional dyspepsia for Asian primary care physicians.