title: The utility of a noninvasive 13C-acetate breath test to predict quality of life after gastrectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The radioscintigraphic technique has been accepted as the standard by which to measure gastric emptying but it is invasive and expensive. A 13C-acetate breath test was reported to be a noninvasive and reliable method. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of a 13C-acetate breath test in reflecting gastric function and the relationship between food intake and change in body weight after distal gastrectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five patients who had undergone curative distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I reconstruction for gastric cancer and ten healthy volunteers were included in the study. The gastrectomy group was divided into two groups: the stasis group and the nonstasis group. The breath test was performed on the patients with gastrectomy and the healthy volunteers, and the time lag between ingestion and the peak of (13)CO(2) expiration (T lag) was calculated. The manometry study was performed on the patients who underwent gastrectomy and the motility index (MI) was calculated. The relationships between T lag and food intake and body weight were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The T lag was significantly shorter in the nonstasis group than in the stasis group. The MI in the duodenum in the nonstasis group was significantly larger than that in the stasis group. There was significant correlation between T lag and food intake, but no significant correlation between T lag and body weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 13C-acetate breath test might be useful not only for the evaluation of the function of the remnant stomach, but also for the prediction of postoperative status.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgical Science (Surgery I), Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan. toyomasu@med.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyomasu
authors.forename: Erito
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mochiki
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamiyama
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuwano
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D002247:Carbon Isotopes