[Gastrointestinal biorhythms in chronic intestinal diseases]

Gastric and intestinal bio-electrical activity (BEA) was assessed from body surface by means of a modified electrogastrograph, EGS-4M, in 387 patients with various intestinal conditions and 39 normal subjects. The method is simple, atraumatic and rather inexpensive. It revealed qualitative and quantitative BEA changes (uncoordination in half the cases, and increased amplitudes of waveforms I, IV and V) in patients with mild disorders, which were chiefly functional and involved no organic gastro-intestinal lesions (i.e., signs of gastric or colonic irritation). In cases of chronic small-intestinal conditions, involving impaired absorption syndrome, reduced waveform II and III amplitudes showed correlation to the severity of the latter. BEA normalization in the course of treatment provides an objective indicator of the degree of patient rehabilitation and the efficiency of treatment at large. BEA parameters cannot be used for nosologic or differential diagnosis. BEA measurements, combined with other techniques, can be useful for the assessment of motor/evacuatory activity of the digestive system.