Gastric emptying of low- and high-caloric liquid meals measured using ultrasonography in healthy volunteers

Delayed gastric emptying is present in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD), diabetes mellitus, and neurological diseases. Diet may affect gastric emptying symptoms in patients with FD. We sought to determine the extent to which gastric emptying and symptoms of dyspepsia are influenced by caloric content in healthy subjects using ultrasonography. 32 healthy volunteers were given 2 meals with different caloric content in random order. Gastric emptying was determined using ultrasonography to measure antral area when fasting, and postprandially at intervals of 0, 10, 20, and 30 min. Dyspeptic symptoms including discomfort, nausea, and fullness were graded. The antral area following a high-caloric meal compared to a low-caloric meal was significantly increased at 0, 10, 20, and 30 min (P=0.0203,The caloric content of a meal influences gastric emptying. Using ultrasonography to measure the antral area helps us to assess gastric emptying and therefore to assess patients with functional dyspepsia.