Development Of Gastric Emptying Research Articles

Development of gastric emptying in premature infants: Use of the 13C-octanoic acid breath test

Objective The non-invasive 13C-octanoic acid breath test ( 13C-OABT) has recently been used to monitor gastric emptying. We evaluated 13C-OABT as a method for assessing gastric emptying in relation to the amount of milk ingested in preterm neonates during their first days of life. Methods The 13C-OABT was performed in 16 stable preterm neonates born between weeks 31 and 37 of gestation (mean ± standard deviation: 34.0 ± 1.5 wk). Birth weight was 1400 to 2680 g (2076 ± 350 g); four newborns were small for gestational age. The newborns underwent 13C-OABT three times according to the amount of 13C-primed breast milk being fed to them (<7 mL/kg, 7–13 mL/kg, and 10–19 mL/kg per dose). 13C-primed breast milk (the test meal) was prepared by adding 13C-octanoic acid to pasteurized breast milk to achieve a concentration of 1 μL of 13C-octanoic acid/mL of milk. Exhaled air samples were taken through an original nasal mask. Amounts of 13C and 12C in the exhaled air samples were measured by mass spectrometry. Results were expressed as δ over baseline and related to the international standard of Pee Dee Belemnite Limestone. To assess the half-life of elimination (t 1/2E), we modeled the process of elimination with the incomplete γ-function, which has a convenient form for the empiric plotting of breath test data. We estimated the parameters of the function, f(x) = A x b e −cx , by using the moment method. The curves were determined by the t 1/2E of 13CO 2 and characterized by the shape of the elimination curve. The half-time of gastric emptying (t 1/2GE) was calculated as t 1/2E reduced by the mean metabolic half-time of octanoic acid. Results Forty-eight 13C-OABT results from 16 premature newborns were analyzed. The mean and median of t 1/2GE calculated from all three tests were 50.3 (±29.9) and 43.7 min, respectively. The t 1/2GE did not change significantly ( P = 0.6811) with the administered dose of 13C-primed breast milk in the stomach. The coefficient of variation among the studied infants was 4.0% to 33.6% (mean, 11.5%). In 12 infants, the characteristic type of elimination curve was the same for all three tests. Conclusions In the first hours of gastric feeding, neither the age of the neonate nor the amount of administered 13C-primed breast milk had any effect on t 1/2GE. The gastric emptying rate and the evacuation curve shape for individual neonates were similar and independent of milk amount.

Development of gastric emptying in the human fetus.

To evaluate stomach size and the development of gastric emptying in human fetuses using ultrasound. Clinical observational study. The motility and peristalsis of the fetal stomach were studied in 80 normal fetuses between 12 and 39 weeks of gestation. Fetal gastric motility was assessed by analysis of videotaped recordings of ultrasound images of the stomach taken in real time. Fetal maximum gastric area gradually increased and minimum gastric areas gradually decreased after 20 weeks of gestation. At term, the maximum and minimum gastric area ratios were approximately 13 and 5%, respectively. The change in fetal gastric area, defined as the difference of maximum and minimum gastric area ratios, was relatively constant at 3% from 12 to 15 weeks of gestation to 20-23 weeks of gestation. It increased significantly (to 8%) after 24-27 weeks of gestation until term. Fetal gastric emptying was quantified and its development assessed during pregnancy. A critical point of gastric development, associated with an increase in the change of gastric volume, was identified at 24-25 weeks of gestation.

Development of gastric emptying in healthy children

Development of gastric emptying in healthy children