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Gastric emptying study
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A gastric emptying study, also called gastric emptying scintigraphy, is usually ordered when someone has nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain, or fills up right away when eating, and gastroparesis is suspected, meaning a stomach that empties too slowly.
The idea is to see something that normally cannot be seen. A meal is prepared with a radiopharmaceutical mixed into it, a radioactive substance that makes it possible to measure from outside how much food is still inside. The meal is labeled so it can be counted from outside while the stomach releases it. By measuring how much radioactivity remains in the stomach at different time points, you learn what percentage of the meal is still there.
The protocol takes images at one hour, two hours, and four hours. If more than 10% of the meal is still retained at four hours, that supports delayed emptying.
In brief
Gastric emptying scintigraphy is usually ordered to evaluate gastroparesis when there is postprandial nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or early satiety.
It measures how much radioactivity from a labeled meal remains in the stomach at different time points, which gives the emptying rate.
The meal is labeled so it can be counted from outside while the stomach releases it.
With images at one, two, and four hours, retention greater than 10% at four hours supports delayed emptying.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingGastric Emptying Scan, StatPearlsPublished
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