SONOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT OF GASTRIC-EMPTYI NG OF SOLIDS

Measurement of gastric emptying of liquids by sagittal antral planimet ry is established. Ultrasonic measurement of gastric emptying of solid s has not been assessed although gastroparesis often reveales a delaye d gastric emptying of solids first. Therefore in this prospective stud y we used a solid meal (50 g rye bread, 1 egg, 40 g butter, 200 ml ora nge juice; 280 kcal) to examine intraindividual reproducibility of ult rasound in 20 healthy volunteers. Moreover, in 20 diabetics antral pla nimetry assessed by ultrasound was compared to scintigraphy. Antral pl animetry showed a coefficient of variation, that was nearly three time s greater between subjects than between two measurements performed on the same subject. This results reflect a good intraindividual reproduc ibility. Gastric emptying half-times assessed by ultrasound and scinti graphy did not correlate in diabetics (R = 0.2). However, correlation between sonographic measurement of antral area and scintigraphy at def ined times (60, 120, 180, 240 min) was significant (R = 0.7; p < 0,001 ). These results imply that ultrasonic antral planimetry is a suitable orientating method for measuring gastric emptying of solids.