PATTERNS OF GASTRIC-EMPTYING IN DYSMOTILITY-LIKE DYSPEPSIA

Background: As the gastric emptying time delay of patients with functi onal dyspepsia is not correlated with the severity of dyspepsia compla ints, we investigated the pattern of intragastric distribution of a me al with an ultrasonographic method in different groups of dyspeptic pa tients. Methods: The final gastric empyting time and the postprandial variations of the cross-sectional area of the gastric antrum were meas ured ultrasonographically, and dyspeptic symptoms were scored in 41 pa tients with dysmotility-like dyspepsia, of whom 31 did not have digest ive or systemic diseases known to affect gut motility (group A) and 10 had scleroderma involving the upper gut (group B). Twelve normal subj ects were examined as a control group. Results: The final emptying tim es of groups A and B did not differ significantly but were both signif icantly longer than that of controls, whereas the antral area at 60 mi n showed a significantly greater increase in patients of group A than in group B. The symptom score showed significantly more severe dyspeps ia in group A than in group B. Conclusions: The fact that the postpran dial antral distention was more marked in the dyspeptic patients with more severe symptoms suggests that this motor pattern could play a mor e important role in the genesis of dyspeptic symptoms than the delay i n gastric empyting time, which was similar in the two groups.