Gastric emptying of milk feedings in infants and children. Anterior versus conjugate counting.
The radionuclide milk scan is a valuable tool for the evaluation of gastroesophageal reflux and gastric emptying in children. There is uncertainty as to whether anterior imaging alone is sufficient for determining gastric emptying in these patients.


METHODS
Twenty-five children underwent Tc-99m sulfur colloid milk scans with images acquired in the anterior and posterior projections. Calculations of the 1 hour and 2 hour percentage of gastric residual activity were performed using the anterior counts alone and the geometric mean of the anterior and posterior counts. The anterior and posterior images were visually assessed for the presence of gastroesophageal reflux.


RESULTS
The means of the absolute differences at 1 and 2 hours for the two methods of gastric residual calculation were 4.1% +/- 2.1% and 3.4% +/- 2.8%, respectively. There was good correlation between the two methods at 1 and 2 hours with r values of 0.991 and 0.997 respectively. Gastroesophageal reflux was more obvious in the anterior images and three small episodes were only seen on the anterior view.


CONCLUSIONS
Anterior images alone give reliable results for the determination of gastric emptying, and gastroesophageal reflux is more readily visualized anteriorly in the pediatric population.
Heyman
S
S
Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Reich
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015902:Gamma Cameras; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D005748:Gastric Fundus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008892:Milk; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013997:Time Factors
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid