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Impaired gastric emptying and small bowel transit in children with mitochondrial disorders

Jatinder Bhardwaj1, David Q Wan, Mary Kay Koenig

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jeetu_bhardwaj@yahoo.com

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|March 23, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children with mitochondrial disorders often experience delayed gastric emptying and prolonged intestinal transit. Prokinetic therapy showed limited effectiveness in improving these gastrointestinal issues.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Mitochondrial Disorders
  • Gastrointestinal Motility

Background:

  • Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in children with mitochondrial disorders (MD).
  • Gastric emptying (GE) and intestinal transit time (ITT) are key indicators of GI motility.
  • Understanding these parameters is crucial for managing MD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate GE and ITT in pediatric patients with MD.
  • To assess the efficacy of prokinetic agents in children with delayed GE.

Main Methods:

  • 26 children (3-18 years) with MD and GI symptoms underwent scintigraphy to assess GE and ITT.
  • Delayed GE defined as half emptying time >90 min (solid) or >60 min (semisolid).
  • ITT defined as >4 hours for tracer mouth-to-cecum transit. Prokinetics were administered to those with delayed GE.

Main Results:

  • 18/26 (69%) children had delayed GE; 12/26 (46%) had prolonged ITT.
  • In 9 subjects treated with prokinetics, GE normalized in only 3.
  • Abdominal pain scores did not significantly improve with prokinetic therapy.

Conclusions:

  • Children with MD and GI symptoms exhibit a high prevalence of delayed GE and prolonged ITT.
  • Prokinetic therapy demonstrated limited efficacy in normalizing GE or improving GI symptoms in this cohort.
  • Further research into alternative therapeutic strategies for GI dysmotility in MD is warranted.
Abstract

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