EFFECT OF SINGLE-DOSE OF ORAL ERYTHROMYCIN ON GASTRIC AND GALLBLADDEREMPTYING - SIMULTANEOUS ASSESSMENT BY ULTRASOUND

To evaluate the effects of a single oral dose of erythromycin on gastr ic and gallbladder emptying, 10 volunteers, without a known history of gastrointestinal disease, were investigated. Erythromycin stearate (5 00 mg) or placebo was given on separate mornings 30 min before a stand ard solid meal in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Gastric and gallbladder emptying rates were simultaneously evaluated by means of real-time ultrasonography. Gastric antral area and gallbladder vol ume were determined before the meal and 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 min after commencing eating. Erythromycin, compared to placebo, signi ficantly accelerates and increases the degree of both gastric and gall bladder emptying. As previously reported for intravenous and chronic o ral assumption, also a single dose of oral erythromycin is able to acc elerate gastric and gallbladder emptying in normal human subjects.