IS ELECTROGASTROGRAPHY A SUBSTITUTE FOR MANOMETRIC STUDIES IN CHILDREN WITH FUNCTIONAL GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS

We performed simultaneous fasting and fed antroduodenal manometry and EGG in 25 children with functional bowel disorders. Three patients (12 %) had an uninterpretable EGG. The manometric studies showed severe ne uropathy in six patients; milder neuropathic changes in five patients; postprandial hypomotility in one patient; myopathy in four patients, and normal motility in the remaining six patients. The percentage of t achygastria time (frequency >3.5 cycles/min) was higher in the patient s with mild (44.1 +/- 15.8%) and severe (48 +/- 19.1%) neuropathy than in the patients with myopathy (20 +/- 16.2%, P < 0.05) or with normal motility (23 +/- 13.3%, P < 0.05). There was a considerable overlap i n the percentage of tachygastria and total arrhythmia time among the d ifferent study groups. The ratio of post- to preprandial power was sig nificantly higher (2.5 +/- 0.07) in children with normal motility than in the other patients groups. Every child with total arrhythmia time <35% and a ratio of post- to preprandial power > 2.4 had normal manome try. In summary, EGG differentiated groups of children with normal man ometry from others with neuropathic or myopathic changes, but in a min ority of patients the study was not interpretable and there was overla p in EGG results between children with normal and abnormal manometry.