Controlled Radiological Evaluation of an Intestinal Pacemaker (Peristart)

In 44 patients who had operations for biliary disease, 20 ml Micropaque® was put into the jejunum at the ligament of Treitz towards the end of the operation, and by a random selection 23 were treated with Peristart. The passage of the contrast medium was followed by X-ray films of the abdomen eight and 24 hours after the operation. At the end of 24 hours, the contrast had reached the colon with a significantly greater frequency in patients treated with Peristart (p = 0.03). The explanation why nevertheless the clinical experience with Peristart is poor, is presumably that a delayed gastrointestinal passage during the postoperative period is due much more to a delayed emptying of the stomach and colon than to an inhibited propulsion in the small bowel.