Gastric clearance of radiopaque markers in non-ulcer dyspepsia patients

Background: The use of radiopaque markers has been proposed as an easy, non-invasive method for measuring gastric emptying. In this study we intended to evaluate the effectiveness of this test in determining the gastric motor function in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. Methods: Simultaneous recordings of scintigraphic solid gastric emptying and gastric clearance of radiopaque markers were conducted in 65 non-ulcer dyspepsia patients. Results: Forty-two patients (64.6%) showed abnormal gastric clearance of radiopaque markers, and 38 patients (58.5%) showed delayed solid gastric emptying. There was no correlation between delayed solid gastric emptying and abnormal gastric clearance of radiopaque markers (p > 0.05). Although the frequency of abnormal gastric clearance of radiopaque markers was higher than that of delayed solid gastric emptying (64.6% versus 58.5%), it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: On the basis of the results of our study, gastric clearance of radiopaque markers may be used as an easy, non-invasive screening test for the purpose of detecting gastric motor dysfunction. However, this test is not superior to scintigraphic gastric emptying studies.