[Evaluating 2 simple procedures for ultrasound assessment of gastric emptying]

For evaluation of 2 simple methods gastric emptying was studied simultaneously by ultrasound and scintigraphy. In 12 patients (25-76 years-old) gastric emptying was quantified by scintigraphy after ingestion of 300 ml Tc-99m-labelled orange juice; simultaneously, the region of the gastric antrum was measured in 5-minute intervals in the aortic longitudinal section. In the following day gastric emptying was studied after ingestion of the identical volume of orange juice by planimetry of the maximal gastric area in an anatomical long-axis section in dextro-decline position. By linear regression analysis a significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.83, p less than 0.001) was obtained between the results of the sonographic antrum method and scintigraphy and between scintigraphy and the sonographic dextro-decline method (r = 0.83, p less than 0.001). These results imply that gastric emptying of fluids can be quantified by both simple sonographic methods. The sonographic dextro-decline method is less influenced by air and hence easier to perform.