Oral anticholinergics and gastric emptying.

The quarternary ammonium antimuscarinic drugs propantheline bromide and clidinium bromide, given orally at the usual therapeutic doses, delayed gastric emptying of a swallowed radiolabeled liquid meal as measured by a gamma camera. Delay of emptying was dose dependent. If an identical meal was given by gastric tube, there was no slowing of emptying by propantheline in the group as a whole. Six subjects who emptied the intubated meal more quickly with placebo had slowed emptying after 30 mg propantheline. In five others, intubation alone slowed gastric emptying while the addition of 30 mg propantheline caused a paradoxical acceleration of gastric emptying. Clidinium bromide, 5 mg, delayed gastric emptying to the same extent as 15 mg propantheline bromide without the marked suppression of salivary secretion induced by the latter.