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Tolerability, gastric emptying patterns, and symptoms during the Nottingham Test Meal in 330 secondary care non‐diabetic dyspeptic patients
Author(s) -
Hay Peter D.,
Corsetti Maura,
Tucker Emily,
Fox Mark R.,
Perkins Alan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
neurogastroenterology and motility
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.489
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1365-2982
pISSN - 1350-1925
DOI - 10.1111/nmo.14454
Subject(s) - gastric emptying , medicine , gastroenterology , bloating , tolerability , postprandial , ingestion , gastroparesis , scintigraphy , nausea , meal , breath test , stomach , helicobacter pylori , adverse effect , insulin
Background Scintigraphy is used for overall assessment of gastric emptying. Adherence to an international consensus protocol is recommended to ensure quality; however, this has not been widely adopted because preparation of the “egg‐beater” meal is inconvenient in clinical practice. In this report, we audit the tolerability and the results of gastric emptying scintigraphy with the 400 ml Tc‐99 m‐labeled liquid nutrient Nottingham Test Meal (NTM). Methods Results from 330 consecutive adult, non‐diabetic patients with dyspeptic symptoms referred for gastric scintigraphy were analyzed. Gastric half‐emptying time (T50) and validated measurements of early‐ and late‐phase gastric emptying were acquired. Postprandial sensations of fullness, bloating, heartburn, nausea, and epigastric pain were recorded using 100 mm visual analog scales (VAS) before and 0, 30, and 90 min after NTM ingestion. Results were compared with those previously obtained in healthy subjects. Key Results Almost all (98%) of the patients were able to consume the 400 ml NTM. Considering early‐ and late‐phase gastric emptying, frequently observed patterns included normal early‐ with slow late‐phase (25%) and fast early‐ with slow late‐phase emptying (27%). Abnormal score of fullness and/ or dyspeptic symptoms were observed in 88% of dyspeptic patients. Abnormal fullness at T0 (after completed drink ingestion) was associated with slow late phase of gastric emptying, especially in women. Conclusions Gastric scintigraphy with the NTM is simple to perform and well tolerated. Whether the identified abnormal gastric emptying patterns could predict different treatment outcome in patients with functional dyspepsia is the subject of ongoing prospective studies.