GASTRIC-EMPTYING OF OIL FROM SOLID AND LIQUID MEALS - EFFECT OF HUMANPANCREATIC INSUFFICIENCY

Digestion of fat in pancreatic insufficiency (PI) is strongly affected by how rapidly fat enters the duodenum. We postulated that: (I) oil e mpties faster in PI than in normals and (2) in both, it empties in a l oad-dependent fashion. We used a gamma camera to test these ideas by c omparing gastric emptying of iodine-123 iodinated oil in normal and pa ncreatic-insufficient subjects after 15 g of free oil were: ingested i n a small spaghetti meal and 60 g of oil were ingested in a large spag hetti meal and in a milk emulsion. Indium-113m marked gastric emptying of water in the milk. In both groups after all meals, oil emptied fas test initially, slowing later; and oil emptied three to four times fas ter when 60 g vs 15 g were ingested. There were no significant differe nces between the groups of subjects with respect to gastric emptying o f the spaghetti meals, but the pancreatic-insufficient subjects emptie d both oil and water faster from the milk emulsion than did the normal subjects. The slower emptying of oil in the normal subjects was assoc iated with significantly more layering of oil to the top of the intrag astric milk emulsion.