[Colonic transit time in healthy Ivorian subjects]

Colonic transit time (CTT) values obtained from healthy Western populations cannot be applied to the population of the Cote d'Ivoire, whose diet is very different. We report the first study of CTT among healthy Ivorian volunteers. This study included 20 healthy Ivorian volunteers (16 men, 4 women, mean age: 25). None was constipated, and all had at least three stools a week. They took no medication and presented no diseases that might affect their digestion. Vegetable fiber was not added to their diet. CTT was assessed according to the method described by Chaussade and al. in 1986: Subjects ingested three types of radiopaque markers in soluble medication capsules at fixed hours for three successive days; plain abdominal radiography was performed on days four, seven, and, if markers remained in the colon on day seven, again on day ten. The plain abdominal radiographs were divided into three parts, representing the right, left and rectosigmoid colons, and radiopaque markers were counted in each segment. CTT was calculated according to Arhan's formula. Mean values (m+/-SD) for CTT were 8.94+/-5.76 hours in the right colon, 12.6+/-8.29 hours in the left, 14.4+/-5.45 hours in the rectosigmoid and 34.94+/-15.09 hours for the entire colon. The corresponding upper limits (M + 2DS) for each segment were 20, 29, 25, and 65 hours. These results suggest the specificity of CTT in healthy Ivorian subjects. CTT norms obtained from healthy Caucasian subjects must not be used to assess CTT in Ivorian patients with constipation.