DELAYED GASTRIC-EMPTYING - A NOVEL GASTROINTESTINAL FINDING IN TURNERS-SYNDROME

Aim-To evaluate gastric emptying in girls with Turner's syndrome to de tect if gastrointestinal motor dysfunction was present. Subjects-Thirt een girls (mean age 8.1 years) with Turner's syndrome, seven girls wit h familial short stature (6.1 years), and eight control girls (7.6 yea rs). Methods-Gastric emptying studies were performed by using 500 mu C i of technetium 99m-sulphur colloid bound to a scrambled egg, and scin tigraphic measurements were made for 60 to 90 minutes. Results-Mean (S D) percentage retention of gastric isotope was significantly greater i n girls with Turner's syndrome than in children with short stature and in controls. Furthermore, in contrast with control subjects, in whom there was an inverse linear relationship between gastric emptying rate and body mass index, in children with Turner's syndrome the delay in gastric emptying was independent of the body mass. Conclusions-The res ults of the study suggest that delayed gastric emptying is detectable in girls with Turner's syndrome independent of age, body mass index, k aryotype, and growth promoting treatment.