A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF GASTRIC-EMPTYING OF DIGESTIBLE SOLIDS AND INERT PARTICLES, IN HEALTHY AND DUODENAL-ULCER PATIENTS

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 7  (3) , 272-276
Abstract
Few studies have compared the gastric emptying of digestible and nondigestable solids in man. In 9 normal subjects and 16 duodenal ulcer patients, the gastric emptying of: radioopaque pellets (n = 100; volume = 30 mm3) ingested with an ordinary meal (450 kcal, 500 ml) and counted on X-ray series; and digestible solids of a meal (99mTc tagged egg white) detected by an isotopic method was measured simultaneously during 3 h. Gastric emptying of liquids (labeled with 113mIn DTPA [diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid]) was also determined. In normal subjects, emptying rates of the pellets was 5 .+-. 2%/h while that of digestible solids was 29 .+-. 1%/h (P < 0.01). No correlation was demonstrated between the emptying rates of either kind of solids. Emptying of liquids was faster than that of both digestible solids and pellets. Similar results were obtained in duodenal ulcer patients; no significant difference was found between patients and normal subjects for the 3 meal phases tested. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that digestible solids are retained in stomach until they are ground, and show that inert particles do not always reflect the gastric emptying of natural solids of the meal.

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