ABSTRACT
This prospective study aims to determine whether specific symptoms or group of symptoms could positively discriminate the etiology of patients who present with dyspepsia. Two hundred and eight patients were studied and 111, 55, 35 patients were classified as non-ulcer dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease and hepatobiliary disease, respectively. All patients completed a structured history questionnaire by personal interview and completed investigation with complete blood count, stool examination, liver function test, HBsAg, HBsAb, ultrasonography of the abdomen and endoscopy. Variable of interest and variables of statistical significance by univariate analysis were put into discriminant function of logistic model for discrimination. The results suggest that anorexia and no periodicity of epigastric pain significantly discriminated non-ulcer dyspepsia from peptic ulcer disease and hepatobiliary disease, pain occurring before a meal or when the patient was hungry and nocturnal epigastric pain significantly discriminated peptic ulcer disease from hepatobiliary disease.