Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36714973›Full record

SynthesisUnited European gastroenterology journal2023

Do prokinetic agents provide symptom relief through acceleration of gastric emptying? An update and revision of the existing evidence.

Nick Goelen, Mike Jones, I-Hsuan Huang, Florenca Carbone, Pieter Janssen, Jan Tack

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in United European gastroenterology journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Pharmaceutical biology · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Pharmacologic treatments for gastroparesis.Pharmacological reviews · 2025
    Review
  6. Potential Value of Biomarker-Based Approaches for Evaluation and Management of Costly Functional Gastrointestinal Diseases.Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association · 2023
    Review
  7. Gastric emptying rate and relevance for symptoms.United European gastroenterology journal · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Nick GoelenTranslational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-7812-1740
Mike JonesCentre for Emotional Health, Psychology Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0565-4938
I-Hsuan HuangTranslational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-9390-6180
Florenca CarboneDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Leuven University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium.
Pieter JanssenTranslational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-1792-953X
Jan TackTranslational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-3206-6704

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGastroparesis and functional dyspepsia are disorders characterized by upper gastrointestinal symptoms and multifaceted etiologies. One of the main therapeutic approaches is accelerating gastric emptying (GE) by means of prokinetic agents. Their efficacy has been demonstrated, although the association between symptom improvement and acceleration of emptying is less clear. Meta-analyses have found contradictory results. Differences in applied methodology and included trials might drive these contradictions.

objectiveTo provide a transparent meta-analysis update to elucidate the association between symptom improvement and acceleration of GE due to gastroprokinetic agents available for long-term use in patients with gastroparesis.

designTwo approaches from earlier meta-analyses were executed and compared. One analyzed the relative changes on active treatment versus baseline, the other compared the change from baseline on active treatment versus the change from baseline on placebo. Papers that reported sufficient numerical data for both analyses were selected. Both analyses included the same trials.

resultsOverall, both approaches yield the same positive direction of association between symptom improvement and acceleration of emptying (0.291 (-0.391, 0.972), p = 0.4 and 0.453 (0.123, 0.782), p = 0.007 for the active-only and placebo-controlled analysis respectively). The association between symptom improvement and GE acceleration for studies using optimal GE tests was either 0.028 (p > 0.9) or 0.463 (p = 0.007), and for sub-optimal GE tests was either 0.370 (p = 0.4) or 0.052 (p > 0.9) depending on the used meta-analysis methodology.

conclusionsThe applied methodology for GE testing, and the meta-analysis substantially impacts the conclusion. When considering the clinically relevant outcome of improvement from baseline, symptoms and emptying improve with prokinetics, but no correlation is found between both aspects. When the change over placebo is considered, limiting the analysis to scientifically more rigorous study approaches, changes in emptying rate and symptom improvement are positively associated.

Indexed as

DyspepsiaGastroparesisCisaprideGastric EmptyingGastrointestinal AgentsHumansCisaprideGastrointestinal Agentsbotulinum toxinbuspironecisapridedomperidoneerythromycingastric emptyinggastroparesisghrelinlevosulpiridemetoclopramideprokinetic

Identifiers

PMID36714973
PMCPMC10039797

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.