[Comparative study of 2 methods of measuring intestinal transit time]

In 20 healthy volunteers, intestinal transit times, obtained following a simple method, recently described, in which a small liquid-containing rubber bag is used as a marker, were compared with the times obtained following, simultaneously, another method, already universally accepted, in which small barium-impregnated pellets are used as markers. The intestinal transit determined with the rubber bag (TTI-B) (14.1 - 79.2 hours; mean +/- s.d.: 42.4 +/- 20.7 hours) were significantly shorter than the times determined with the plastic pellets (TTI) (26.4 - 88.1 hours; mean +/- s.d.: 60.2 +/- 25.5 hours (P less than 0.001). But, TTI-B and TTI correlate closely (r: + 0.86), and, furthermore, TTI-B results may be converted to TTI results with the help of a simple regression equation: TTI (in minutes) = 831 + 1.09 TTI-B (in minutes). After analyzing what has been observed in the present work and in previous works, it was concluded that the new method to measure intestinal transient time using the small rubber bag is reliable and simple, and that it may help to better understand what happens in some important gastrointestinal problems.