EFFECT OF INTRAVENOUS DIAZEPAM ON SOLID-PHASE GASTRIC-EMPTYING IN NORMAL CATS

Intravenous diazepam has been advocated as an appetite stimulant in an orexic cats, Diazepam has also been used to stimulate the intake of ra diographic contrast medium-food mixture to determine the gastric empty ing time of a solid meal, Diazepam has been suspected to delay gastric emptying in cats, One study found diazepam combined with valium to ha ve little effect on gastric transit times in cats while diazepam alone accelerates gastric emptying in humans, The purpose of this study was to determine if diazepam influences gastric emptying times in normal cats, The gastric emptying half-time of solid food in normal, non diaz epam treated cats has been previously determined using a scintigraphic technique using Tc-99m-sulfur colloid to radiolabel solid dry food. T he median gastric emptying half-time was 2.3 hours and the mean meal s ize was 16.1 grams, Gastric emptying half-times were determined in thi s study using diazepam as an appetite stimulant, The median gastric em ptying half-times of diazepam treatment groups given both a 16.1 gram meal and a large meal were both significantly longer than the normal n on-treated group (P < 0.05), Solid phase gastric emptying is therefore significantly delayed when diazepam is used as an appetite stimulant, irrespective of the volume of the meal.