Gastroparesis is a disorder of delayed gastric emptying not caused by mechanical obstruction. Patients present with nausea, emesis, early satiety, bloating, and sometimes abdominal pain.

There are numerous etiologies of gastroparesis, but it is most commonly idiopathic. Diabetes mellitus as a cause of gastroparesis is increasing in prevalence. Additional etiologies include postsurgical vagal nerve injury, medication adverse effects, and other neurodegenerative or autoimmune diseases (eg, parkinsonism, AIDS, scleroderma). Narcotics, calcium channel blockers, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) antagonists, tricyclic antidepressants, octreotide, phenothiazines, and cyclosporine are medications that frequently cause delayed gastric emptying.

Evaluation for suspected gastroparesis may include imaging to exclude a bowel obstruction and a detailed history to delineate alternative causes of the patient's symptoms, which are nonspecific and overlap with numerous gastrointestinal conditions. Physical examination is often normal but may demonstrate a protuberant abdomen and a succussion splash.