GASTROBILIARY MOTILITY AFTER LIQUID FATTY MEAL IN PROGRESSIVE SYSTEMIC-SCLEROSIS - A SONOGRAPHIC STUDY

Gastric emptying, antral motility, and gallbladder emptying after a li quid fatty meal were studied by ultrasound in 25 patients with progres sive systemic sclerosis and in 25 sex- and age-matched controls. In pa tients with systemic sclerosis, the possible role of autonomic dysfunc tion was evaluated by four noninvasive cardiovascular reflex tests. De spite a significant delay of gastric emptying and a significant postpr andial antral hypomotility in the patients with systemic sclerosis, th e fat-induced gallbladder emptying was only slightly reduced, reaching no significant level when compared to the controls. The prolongation of gastric emptying correlated significantly with the duration of the disease. Although 36% of the patients in the systemic sclerosis group exhibited signs of autonomic cardiac dysfunction, there was no evidenc e of an association between these signs and gastric motor dysfunction. In conclusion motility disorders of the gallbladder seem to play a mi nor role in the upper gut involvement of systemic sclerosis, whereas m otility disorders of the stomach are frequent and can be easily recogn ized noninvasively by real-time ultrasound.