Antroduodenal motility and transpyloric fluid movement in patients with diabetes studied using duplex sonography

To elucidate the relationship between diabetic autonomic neuropathy and gastrointestinal motility, antroduodenal motility was studied in patients with diabetes using duplex sonography.

Antroduodenal motility, transpyloric fluid movement, and velocity curves of fluid flow were studied using duplex sonography in 32 patients with diabetes and 10 healthy subjects after their ingestion of a meat soup.

The frequency of antroduodenal coordination was significantly reduced in patients with diabetes with both early and definite autonomic neuropathy compared with healthy subjects (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The frequency and duration of end-cycle reflux episodes were also significantly reduced in patients with early and definite autonomic neuropathy compared with healthy subjects (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The frequency of end-cycle reflux episodes was closely correlated with the frequency of antroduodenal coordination in both healthy subjects (r = 0.859; P = 0.002) and patients with diabetes (r = 0.929; P = 0.0001). There was a significant correlation between fasting plasma glucose concentrations and the frequency of antroduodenal coordination in patients with diabetes (r = -0.361; P = 0.039).

These findings suggest that reduced frequency and duration of end-cycle reflux episodes may be an early indicator of diabetic gastroparesis that may be related mainly to autonomic neuropathy but also in part to acute hyperglycemia.