@article {Klingensmith186, author = {William C. Klingensmith III and Katherine L. Rhea and Elizabeth A. Wainwright and Orlin Woodie Hopper}, title = {The Gastric Emptying Study with Oatmeal: Reference Range and Reproducibility as a Function of Age and Sex}, volume = {38}, number = {4}, pages = {186--190}, year = {2010}, doi = {10.2967/jnmt.110.077065}, publisher = {Society of Nuclear Medicine}, abstract = {This study evaluated the reference range and reproducibility of the gastric emptying study with oatmeal as a function of age and sex. Methods: Twenty-four healthy subjects, 12 men and 12 women, categorized into 3 age groups, 20{\textendash}40, 40{\textendash}60, and 60{\textendash}80 y, were studied twice, 1 d apart, with instant oatmeal labeled with 99mTc-sulfur colloid. Imaging was performed in the upright position using the left anterior oblique (LAO), right posterior oblique (RPO), anterior, and posterior projections. One-minute digital images acquired every 15 min for 60 min were used to calculate a simple half-time of emptying. Results: A strong correlation was found among half-times of gastric emptying calculated from the anterior projection, LAO projection, anterior{\textendash}posterior geometric mean, and LAO{\textendash}RPO geometric mean (P \< 0.01). A significant inverse correlation was found between increasing age and decreasing half-time of emptying in men and women (P \< 0.05). A reference range of 10{\textendash}60 min is suggested for 20- to 40-y-old patients, 10{\textendash}40 min for 40- to 60-y-olds, and 10{\textendash}30 min for 60- to 80-y-olds. Half-times of emptying tended to be longer for women than for men (not statistically significant). There was a large variation between the first and second studies, with a trend toward decreasing variation with increasing age in both men and women. In repeated studies, a reference range of variation of up to 30 min is suggested for 20- to 40-y-old patients, up to 20 min for 40- to 60-y-olds, and up to 15 min for 60- to 80-y-olds. Conclusion: The reference range for half-time of gastric emptying with instant oatmeal decreases with increasing age in both men and women. Test{\textendash}retest variation is relatively large and tends to decrease with increasing age in both men and women. Data from either the LAO projection or the anterior{\textendash}posterior geometric mean are acceptable for calculating the half-time of gastric emptying.}, issn = {0091-4916}, URL = {https://tech.snmjournals.org/content/38/4/186}, eprint = {https://tech.snmjournals.org/content/38/4/186.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology} }