Effect of Solids, Caloric Content on Dual-Phase Gastric Emptying

Abstract

The dual-phase gastric emptying technique is routinely employed to determine the differential emptying of solids and liquids in a wide spectrum of gastrointestinal diseases. Composition, acidity, volume, caloric density, physical form and viscosity of the test meals have been shown to be important determinants for the quantitative evaluation of gastric emptying. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of increasing the caloric content of the solid portion of a physiologic test meal on both solid and liquid emptying kinetics in healthy male volunteers. We observed that increasing solid caloric content delayed emptying of both solids and liquids. For the solid phase, the delay was accounted for by a longer lag phase and decrease in emptying rate; for liquids a longer emptying rate was also obtained. We conclude that modification of the caloric content of the solid portion of a meal not only affects the emptying of the solid phase but also alters the emptying of the liquid component of the meal.