Ultrasound measurement of gastric emptying of a solid test meal. Correlation with scintigraphy in diabetic patients and reproducibility in healthy probands

Abstract

Measurement of gastric emptying of liquids by sagittal antral planimetry is established. Ultrasonic measurement of gastric emptying of solids has not been assessed although gastroparesis often reveals a delayed gastric emptying of solids first. Therefore in this prospective study we used a solid meal (50 g rye bread, 1 egg, 40 g butter, 200 ml orange juice; 280 kcal) to examine intraindividual reproducibility of ultrasound in 20 healthy volunteers. Moreover, in 20 diabetics antral planimetry assessed by ultrasound was compared to scintigraphy. Antral planimetry showed a coefficient of variation, that was nearly three times greater between subjects than between two measurements performed on the same subject. This results reflect a good intraindividual reproducibility. Gastric emptying half-times assessed by ultrasound and scintigraphy did not correlate in diabetics (R = 0.2). However, correlation between sonographic measurement of antral area and scintigraphy at defined 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.