Gastric Emptying in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Prolonged gastric emptying half-time (GET1/2)has been observed in several neurological disorders.However, findings of altered gastric emptying (GE) inprevious studies on subjects with spinal cord injuries (SCI) have been questioned. Thus, GET1/2 ofsolid meals in SCI patients was studied by radionuclideimaging. This prospective study was conducted to assessGET1/2 in 50 SCI patients using radionuclide labeled solid meals. GET1/2 was abnormal in 58% of the50 SCI patients. Age (abnormal GET1/2 in 57% of young vs59% of old patients) and injury duration (abnormalGET1/2 in 61% of long vs 56% of short duration patients) were not statistically significantfactors influencing GET1/2 (P > 0.05). However, theincidences of abnormal GET1/2 in female SCI patients(57%) and patients with high level injury (quadriplegic) (83%) were higher than in male SCI patients(47%) and patients with low level injury (paraplegic)(35%) (P < 0.05). SCI can cause significant prolongedGE of a solid meal, especially in female patients and patients with high level injury.