Altered gastric emptying in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is the most frequent functional disorder of the di gestive system. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome have motor disorders not only in the colon, but also in other parts of the digestive tract such as the oesophagus and small intestine; however, it is not known whether th e stomach is also involved. We used a radiolabelled mixed solid-liquid meal (technetium-99m for the solid component, indium-lll for the liquid compone nt) to study gastric emptying of solids (GES), liquids (GEL) and indigestib le solids (GER) in 50 patients diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome (30 with predominant constipation and 20 with predominant diarrhoea). GER was measured by counting the number of indigestible solids remaining in the stomach 4 h after they were swallowed. In patients with irritable bowel sy ndrome, GES and GEL were slower than in control subjects (P<0,05). GER was normal in all patients except for two women. Thirty-two patients (64%) show ed delayed CES, 29 (58%j) delayed GEL, and 2 (4%) delayed GER. Among patien ts with irritable bowel syndrome, GES was slower in those with predominant constipation than in those with predominant diarrhoea (P<0.05): GEL and GER were similar in both groups. Gastroparesis was found in a large proportion of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. suggesting the presence of a mo re generalised motor disorder of the gut.