Metoclopramide therapy in patients with delayed gastric emptying: a randomized, double-blind study.

Twenty-eight patients with delayed gastric emptying as measured by an abnormal barium "burger" were treated with metoclopramide in a randomized, double-blind fashion. Five had diabetic gastroparesis, four had undergone vagotomy and pyloroplasty, and 19 were idiopathic. Patients received either metoclopramide or placebo for a three-week period and symptoms were scored prestudy, at weekly intervals, and at termination of the study. Ten of 17 patients on metoclopramide and four of 14 on placebo decreased their symptom score to a level below entry criteria, indicating a significant metoclopramide effect when compared to placebo. The mean total sumptom score for the metoclopramide group was 18.4 prestudy and 7.2 poststudy while for placebo was 19.1 prestudy and 12.9 poststudy. Although improvement on placebo was significant, these patients were still symptomatic. The improvement on metoclopramide was significantly greater than the improvement on placebo. Metoclopramide is an effective agent in treating the symptom complex of delayed gastric emptying.