TY - JOUR T1 - The Gastric Emptying Study with Oatmeal: Reference Range and Reproducibility as a Function of Age and Sex JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology JO - J. Nucl. Med. Technol. DO - 10.2967/jnmt.110.077065 SP - jnmt.110.077065 AU - William C. Klingensmith III AU - Katherine L. Rhea AU - Elizabeth A. Wainwright AU - Orlin Woodie Hopper Y1 - 2010/12/01 UR - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2010/11/15/jnmt.110.077065.abstract N2 - 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, 20–40, 40–60, and 60–80 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–posterior geometric mean, and LAO–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 10–60 min is suggested for 20- to 40-y-old patients, 10–40 min for 40- to 60-y-olds, and 10–30 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–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–posterior geometric mean are acceptable for calculating the half-time of gastric emptying. ER -