Rapid gastric emptying of a liquid meal in long-term Type 2 diabetes mellitus

✍ Scribed by Weytjens, C.; Keymeulen, B.; Haleweyn, C. Van; Somers, G.; Bossuyt, A.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 95 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0742-3071
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9136(1998120)15:12<1022::aid-dia720>3.0.co;2-h

✦ Synopsis

Both delayed and accelerated gastric emptying rate (GER) have been reported in patients with diabetes mellitus. Delayed GER has been attributed to autonomic neuropathy in established diabetes but rapid GER was demonstrated in early Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study was to investigate rapid gastric emptying in a group of people with longduration Type 2 diabetes. GER of a radiolabelled liquid meal was studied scintigraphically in 20 Type 2 patients with a mean (؎ SEM) duration of diabetes 13 (؎1) years. The 50 % emptying time (t 50 ) for the liquid meal was shorter in diabetic patients (29.6 ؎ 2.1 min) than in controls (39.2 ؎ 1.9 min; pϽ0.0005). Accelerated emptying (t 50 value below the shortest t 50 of controls) was evidenced in 14/20 patients and delayed emptying (t 50 value exceeding the upper t 50 of controls) in none. Patients with accelerated GER were comparable for BMI, diabetes duration, HbA 1c and fasting glycaemia to those with normal GER. Rapid GER for liquids was found in the presence or absence of autonomic neuropathy. Seven of the patients with rapid emptying of the liquid meal were reassessed using a solid meal. Only one patient demonstrated rapid emptying of the solid meal, which was normal in 3 and delayed in 3 patients. In conclusion, accelerated GER can be found in long-term Type 2 diabetes but there is no concordance between GER of a liquid and a solid meal.