Serial gastric emptying studies: effect of preceding drinks.

A widely used method for evaluating gastric emptying is the serial recovery method, in which several different test drinks are given and recovered in rapid succession. Recently, the validity of this method has been challenged (Brouns et al., Int. J. Sports Med. 8:175-189, 1987) by suggestions that the duodenal contents remaining from previous drinks may influence the gastric emptying of subsequent drinks. To evaluate whether this methodological issue might influence the results of gastric emptying studies, we studied six volunteer subjects. The gastric emptying rate of water was measured following a previous trial with either water or a concentrated maltodextrin solution (23% CHO). All trials were conducted at rest and consisted of a volume of 400 ml. The emptying rate of water was not different following either water or maltodextrin solution (14.9 vs 16.3 ml.min-1). We conclude that the serial recovery method remains a valid technique for measuring the rate of gastric emptying during rest and exercise.