Guide pour la réalisation d’un examen de scintigraphie de vidange gastrique

Abstract

Why focus on gastric emptying scintigraphy in 2022? Described for the first time in 1966, this non-invasive, quantitative studies has long suffered from a lack of standardization of protocols (type of meal, patient positioning, examination duration, frequency of images, method of quantification, etc.), requiring in 2008 a consensus of the Society of Neurogastro-enterology and Motility and of the Society of Nuclear medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) detailing the methods and the interpretation criteria of this examination, particularly in the exploration of solids, and for the purpose of establishing normal reference values. Even if, despite this harmonization of practices, there is still a great variability in the protocols between the centers, gastric emptying scintigraphy remains today the gold standard in the exploration of Gastroparesis, a chronic disease of which diabete is the most common etiology, and the impact on the quality of life of patients can be significant. The significant progress in recent years in the knowledge of the pathophysiology and in the management of gastroparesis confirms the value of scintigraphy in this pathology; the indications, the methods and the interpretation criteria of this examination are recalled in this update of the French Recommendations of 2010.