Spirulina breath test indicates differences in gastric emptying based on age, gender, and BMI

Utility of a 13C-Spirulina Stable Isotope Gastric Emptying Breath Test in Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

The carbon-13 spirulina gastric emptying breath test (GEBT) is approved to identify delayed, but not accelerated, gastric emptying (GE). We compared the utility of the GEBT to scintigraphy for diagnosing abnormal GE in patients with diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

Twenty-eight patients with diabetes ate a 230-kcal test meal labeled with technetium 99 m and 13C-spirulina, after which 10 scintigraphic images and breath samples (baseline, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 min) were collected on 2 occasions 1 week apart. We assessed the accuracy of 13C-spirulina GEBT excretion rate (percent dose multiplied by 1000 [kPCD] min-1) values to predict scintigraphic half-life and distinguish between normal, delayed, and accelerated GE and the intraindividual reproducibility of the GEBT.

KEY RESULTS

Scintigraphy revealed normal, delayed, and accelerated GE, respectively, in 17 (30%), 29 (52%), and 10 (18%) test results. GE T½ values measured with scintigraphy and GEBT were highly concordant within individuals; the intraindividual reproducibility was 34% (scintigraphy) and 15% (GEBT). Compared to current criteria, the kPCD150 (150 min) and kPCD180 values provided equally sensitive (90%) and more specific (81% vs. 67%) approach for distinguishing between delayed versus normal/accelerated GE. A new metric (kPCD60-kPCD15 min) was 90% sensitive and 83% specific for distinguishing between accelerated versus normal/delayed GE. These findings were used to create nomograms and an algorithm for interpreting GEBT results.

CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES

Among patients with poorly controlled diabetes, the 13C-spirulina GEBT can accurately and precisely assess GE and effectively distinguish between normal, delayed, and accelerated GE.

Ultrasound evaluation of gastric emptying for two different quantities of milk in elementary school-aged children

Current guidelines recommend 6-h milk fasting in periprocedural settings; however, recent evidence suggests potential overconservativeness and supports more liberal pediatric fasting protocols. This study assessed the gastric emptying of two different milk quantities in elementary school-age children using gastric ultrasonography. This prospective crossover trial involved 30 healthy children who fasted overnight on two separate occasions within one month, consuming either 5 or 10 mL/kg of milk. Gastric ultrasonography assessed the gastric antrum cross-section area in the right lateral decubitus position at intervals until milk emptying. The time for the gastric antrum to return to baseline and the gastric emptying time was recorded. After consuming 5 mL/kg of milk, the time for the gastric antrum to return to baseline varied from 1.5 to 3.5 h (mean: 2.35 ± 0.56 h; median: 2.50 (2.00-2.63) hours). The gastric emptying time ranged from 1.5 to 4.0 h, with the mean and median time of 2.63 ± 0.54 h and 2.50 (2.50-3.00) hours, respectively. With 10 mL/kg of milk, the time for the gastric antrum to return to baseline ranged from 2.0 to 5.0 h, with a mean of 3.35 ± 0.62 h and a median time of 3.50 (3.00-4.00) hours. The gastric emptying time ranged from 2.0 to 5.0 h with a mean and median time of 3.62 ± 0.61 h and 3.50 (3.38-4.00) hours. Subgroup analysis revealed no significant differences between children of different genders or body mass indexes.

CONCLUSION

The gastric return and emptying times are different for both milk quantities, both shorter than the 6-h fasting recommendation, supporting the liberal fasting protocols recommended by the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration number ChiCTR2300077790) on November 20, 2023.

WHAT IS KNOWN

• The ESAIC guidelines recommend a 4-h fasting period for milk products in periprocedural settings for children.

WHAT IS NEW

• Our research demonstrates that cow's milk is emptied from the stomach within 4 h, supporting the ESAIC recommendations.

Recent advances in the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders in children

INTRODUCTION

Pediatric gastrointestinal motility disorders represent some of the most challenging clinical conditions with largely undefined pathogenetic pathways and therefore limited therapeutic options. Herein, we provide an overview of the recent advances in treatment options for these disorders and their clinical impact.

AREAS COVERED

PubMed and Medline databases were searched for relevant articles related to the treatment of achalasia, esophageal atresia, gastroparesis, PIPO and constipation published between 2017 and 2022. In this article, we review and summarize recent advances in management of gastrointestinal motility disorders in children with a particular focus on emerging therapies as well as novel diagnostic modalities that help guide their application or develop new, more targeted treatments.

EXPERT OPINION

Gastrointestinal motility disorders represent one of the most challenging conundrums in pediatric age and despite significant advances in investigative tools, the palette of treatment options remain limited. Overall, while pharmacological options have failed to bring a curative solution, recent advances in minimal invasive therapeutic and diagnostic techniques have emerged as potential keys to symptom and quality of life improvement, such as ENDOFLIP, POEM, cine-MRI, fecal microbiota transplantation.

The [13 C]octanoic acid breath test for gastric emptying quantification: A focus on nutrition and modeling

Gastric emptying (GE) is the process of food being processed by the stomach and delivered to the small intestine where nutrients such as lipids are absorbed into the blood circulation. The combination of an easy and inexpensive method to measure GE such as the CO₂ breath test using the stable isotope [¹³C]octanoic acid with semi‐mechanistic modeling could foster a wider application in nutritional studies to further understand the metabolic response to food. Here, we discuss the use of the [¹³C]octanoic acid breath test to label the solid phase of a meal, and the factors that influence GE to support mechanistic studies. Furthermore, we give an overview of existing mathematical models for the interpretation of the breath test data and how much nutritional studies could benefit from a physiological based pharmacokinetic model approach.