Comparative quantification of gastric electrical activity and electrogastrograms

The aim of this study was to compare quantitatively the variability of gastric electrical activity (GEA) recorded from asymptomatic patients with implanted serosal electrodes and patients with implanted and cutaneous electrodes. Three pairs of electrodes were inserted into the gastric wall in six patients undergoing laparotomy for other reasons. Normal GEA was assessed visually once patients were tolerating a normal diet. Mean frequency (MF) values of the GEA signal in successive 256 s intervals were obtained. Standard deviations of the MF values for each separate channel of each patient were calculated. Probability density functions (pdfs) of these values were also obtained and compared. 36 1 h simultaneous recordings were made for three patients with implanted and cutaneous electrodes. The recordings were assessed both visually and with computer. A fast Hartley transform was used to obtain the dominant MF values in 256 s time intervals. These values were statistically evaluated for each channel. Normal internal GEA had a mean frequency of 2.5-3.75 cycles min-1 (cpm) and a standard deviation range of 0-0.45 cpm. Bell-shaped pdfs with coinciding maxima were observed in all these recordings, indicating normal electrical coupling. In the comparative 36 h study, using the above definitions of normality, different cutaneous recordings were found to reflect GEA with a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 79%.