Diffuse gastrointestinal dysmotility by ultrasonography, manometry and breath tests in colonic inertia

P. Portincasa, A. Moschetta, M. Giampaolo, G. Palasciano

Istituto di Semeiotica Medica e Sezione di Medicina Interna, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Medicina Pubblica (DIMIMP), University Hospital of Bari (Italy)

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• Gastroenterology

Abstract. – Patients with colonic inertia, the most severe form of chronic functional constipation, may present with a more diffuse pan-enteric motility disorder. We describe a case of a woman with severe longstanding colonic inertia associated with chronic functional dyspepsia and defective gastric, gallbladder and small intestinal motility, as confirmed by several diagnostic tests including two breath tests with the 13C-stable isotope. A subclinical form of authonomic sympathetic neuropathy was diagnosed, providing a possible pathophysiological explanation for the presence of simultaneous multiple motility defects of the gastrointestinal tract.