V. Arienti et al., EFFECT OF SINGLE-DOSE OF ORAL ERYTHROMYCIN ON GASTRIC AND GALLBLADDEREMPTYING - SIMULTANEOUS ASSESSMENT BY ULTRASOUND, Digestive diseases and sciences, 39(6), 1994, pp. 1309-1312
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.