title: The gastric emptying study with oatmeal: reference range and reproducibility as a function of age and sex.
abstract: This study evaluated the reference range and reproducibility of the gastric emptying study with oatmeal as a function of age and sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four healthy subjects, 12 men and 12 women, categorized into 3 age groups, 20-40, 40-60, and 60-80 y, were studied twice, 1 d apart, with instant oatmeal labeled with (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid. Imaging was performed in the upright position using the left anterior oblique (LAO), right posterior oblique (RPO), anterior, and posterior projections. One-minute digital images acquired every 15 min for 60 min were used to calculate a simple half-time of emptying.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A strong correlation was found among half-times of gastric emptying calculated from the anterior projection, LAO projection, anterior-posterior geometric mean, and LAO-RPO geometric mean (P < 0.01). A significant inverse correlation was found between increasing age and decreasing half-time of emptying in men and women (P < 0.05). A reference range of 10-60 min is suggested for 20- to 40-y-old patients, 10-40 min for 40- to 60-y-olds, and 10-30 min for 60- to 80-y-olds. Half-times of emptying tended to be longer for women than for men (not statistically significant). There was a large variation between the first and second studies, with a trend toward decreasing variation with increasing age in both men and women. In repeated studies, a reference range of variation of up to 30 min is suggested for 20- to 40-y-old patients, up to 20 min for 40- to 60-y-olds, and up to 15 min for 60- to 80-y-olds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reference range for half-time of gastric emptying with instant oatmeal decreases with increasing age in both men and women. Test-retest variation is relatively large and tends to decrease with increasing age in both men and women. Data from either the LAO projection or the anterior-posterior geometric mean are acceptable for calculating the half-time of gastric emptying.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Porter Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA. bill.klingensmith@mac.com
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Klingensmith
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Rhea
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Wainwright
authors.forename: Orlin Woodie
authors.initials: OW
authors.lastname: Hopper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D018554:Avena; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid