Differential diagnosis
Rumination syndrome in adults is a complicated disorder whose symptoms can mimic those of several other gastroesophageal disorders and diseases. Bulimia nervosa and gastroparesis are especially prevalent among the misdiagnoses of rumination.Bulimia nervosa, among adults and especially adolescents, is by far the most common misdiagnosis patients will hear during their experiences with rumination syndrome. This is due to the similarities in symptoms to an outside observer—"vomiting" following food intake—which, in long-term patients, may include ingesting copious amounts to offset malnutrition, and a lack of willingness to expose their condition and its symptoms. While it has been suggested that there is a connection between rumination and bulimia, unlike bulimia, rumination is not self-inflicted. Adults and adolescents with rumination syndrome are generally well aware of their gradually increasing malnutrition, but are unable to control the reflex. In contrast, those with bulimia intentionally induce vomiting, and seldom re-swallow food.Gastroparesis is another common misdiagnosis. Like rumination syndrome, patients with gastroparesis often bring up food following the ingestion of a meal. Unlike rumination, gastroparesis causes vomiting (in contrast to regurgitation) of food, which is not being digested further, from the stomach. This vomiting occurs several hours after a meal is ingested, preceded by nausea and retching, and has the bitter or sour taste typical of vomit. Classification
Rumination syndrome is a condition which affects the functioning of the stomach and esophagus, also known as a functional gastroduodenal disorder.
Symptoms tend to cease when the ruminated contents become acidic.Abdominal pain (38.1%), lack of fecal production or constipation (21.1%), nausea (17.0%), diarrhea (8.2%), bloating (4.1%), and dental decay (3.4%) are also described as common symptoms in day-to-day life. These symptoms are not necessarily prevalent during regurgitation episodes, and can happen at any time. Weight loss is often observed (42.2%) at an average loss of 9.6 kilograms, and is more common in cases where the disorder has gone undiagnosed for a longer period of time, though this may be expected of the nutrition deficiencies that often accompany the disorder as a consequence of its symptoms. Depression has also been linked with rumination syndrome, though its effects on rumination syndrome are unknown.Acid erosion of the teeth can be a feature of rumination, as can halitosis (bad breath). Causes
The cause of rumination syndrome is unknown. However, studies have drawn a correlation between hypothesized causes and the history of patients with the disorder. In infants and the cognitively impaired, the disease has normally been attributed to overstimulation and under-stimulation from parents and caregivers, causing the individual to seek self-gratification and self-stimulus due to the lack or abundance of external stimuli. The disorder has also commonly been attributed to a bout of illness, a period of stress in the individuals recent past, and to changes in medication.In adults and adolescents, hypothesized causes generally fall into one of either category: habit-induced, and trauma-induced.