Correlation between gastric myoelectrical activity recorded by multi-channel electrogastrography and gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the parameters of multi-channel electrogastrography (MEGG) and gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The MEGG study included 19 patients with functional dyspepsia and 19 healthy subjects. MEGG was recorded for 30 min in the fasting state and 60 min after a standard test meal (450 kcal). MEGG parameters included the power ratio (PR), the normal percentage of 2-4 cpm gastric slow waves (N%) and the percentage of slow wave coupling (%SWC). Gastric emptying was measured in the 19 patients by SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography) and the gastric emptying parameters included lag phase (LP), half time of gastric emptying (T1/2), emptying rate of stable phase (ERSP), one hour retention rate (1HRR), and two hour retention rate (2HRR). RESULTS: No significant difference in MEGG parameters was found between normal subjects and patients. There was a significant negative correlation between postprandial N% and LP (r = - 0.52, p<0.05) and a significant negative correlation between fasting %SWC and 1HRR (r = - 0.48, p<0.04) or 2HRR (r = - 0.48, p<0.05). Compared with the patients in the PR > 1 group, patients in the PR < or = 1 group had significantly higher T1/2 and 2HRR but lower ERSP. CONCLUSIONS: Both the temporal regularity and spatial regularity of gastric slow waves have negative correlations with gastric emptying, which suggests that the impaired gastric myoelectrical activity may be responsible for the delayed gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia.