What Is a Gastric Emptying Study?

Home » Acid Reflux Guide » Diagnosing Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) » What Is a Gastric Emptying Study?
What Is a Gastric Emptying Study

Using nuclear medicine, a gastric emptying study determines how quickly food leaves the patient’s stomach and enters the small intestine after a meal. Slow gastric emptying can cause uncomfortable symptoms and, left untreated, may become a serious medical condition. A doctor will order a gastric emptying study, also known as a gastric emptying test or scan, when he or she suspects a patient’s stomach is emptying slowly.
A physician might order this test for any patient who vomits frequently, feels bloated after eating, or experiences abdominal pain after meals. Doctors commonly use gastric emptying studies to diagnose gastroparesis, a medical condition in which the muscles of the stomach do not work properly. Gastroparesis may also cause weight loss and changes in blood sugar.

The Gastric Emptying Study Procedure

A gastric emptying study differs from a regular x-ray in that it uses a small amount of radioactive material, which emits photon energy. Special cameras capture this energy and use it to create computerized images of the digestive tract in motion. The test can take anywhere from 90 minutes to six hours, depending on how long it takes for the stomach to empty.
The gastric emptying study involves eating a bland meal – usually a scrambled egg or egg substitute – containing a small amount of radioactive material. The technician uses an external camera that scans the abdomen to monitor the progress of the food as it enters and leaves the stomach. A radiologist then measures the rate of gastric emptying at one, two, three, and four hours after the meal. If more than 10 percent of the food remains in the patient’s stomach four hours after the meal, the gastric emptying scan confirms the diagnosis of gastroparesis.
Left unchecked, gastroparesis can lead to a variety of health issues, including:

  • Persistent vomiting, resulting in severe dehydration.
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), requiring reflux surgery to treat irritation of the esophagus.
  • Solid masses of indigestible material, known as bezoars, which can cause nausea, vomiting, and obstruction; bezoars can also interfere with the absorption of oral medications.
  • Difficulty controlling blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
  • Poor absorption of nutrients or low calorie intake, resulting in malnutrition.
  • Diminished quality of life and work absences resulting from severe symptoms.

Patients struggling with symptoms of slow stomach emptying should contact a physician to find out if a gastric emptying study is right for them.

From the Palmyra Surgical Blog

  • Cooking Tips for Heartburn-Friendly Meals
    For someone with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), eating certain foods can cause extreme acid reflux and heartburn. Learn how to cook without the heartburn with these healthy tips.
  • Weight Loss for GERD
    Weight Loss for GERD
    Losing weight may provide relief from chronic heartburn, even for those who struggle with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Overweight and obese men and women struggle with acid reflux disease at a much higher prevalence rate than their healthy-weight counterparts.
  • Smoking: A Culprit in the World of Reflux
    In the past two decades, a lot of research has come out about tobacco use—and the news hasn’t been good for tobacco companies. Whereas once smoking appeared to be a harmless pastime, something that just about everyone did, inside and outdoors, that isn’t the game anymore. Tobacco use continues to decline across the United States, but there are still a lot of people out there who smoke at least somewhat regularly. By the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease and Control, about 18% of US adults use tobacco products in some form or another.
  • The Compliment Conundrum
    For Acid Reflux, Put the Soda Down
    Soda is hands-down one of the most popular drinks in the United States. This can be proven on the number of sales alone. Based on national sale data, there is enough soda sold annually for every adult to drink a full 45 gallons of soda per year. There are aquariums sold that are smaller than that! But when you stop and think about it, there is really no wonder as to why soda is such a major drink in our diets. The beverage is filled with sugar, and most of our favorite sodas pack enough caffeine to help us power through a busy afternoon at work.
  • Acid Reflux More Common than Ever
    Americans are dealing with more health problems now than they ever had in the past. This is based on statistical data that finds that chronic diseases are pretty much on the rise across the board. One of the biggest causes of this startling rise in health problems is obesity, which directly affects more than one-third of the US adult population, with another third being overweight and at risk.