Clinical Significance of Gastroptosis

Kim, Eun Sook; Park, Hyo Jin; Yeom, Joon Sup; Kwon, Sun Ok; Chung, Jun Pyo; Lee, Kwan Sik; Lee, Sang In; Park, In Suh

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Gastroptosis is defined as a condition in which the gastric angel is located below the interiliac line in standing position in the UGI barium study. The present study was designed to evaluate its prevalence, relation to clinical symptoms, body weight and gastric emptying time.
METHODS
Two hundred-twenty seven consecutive subjects undertaken a UGI barium study for general check-up. We analyzed age, sex distribution, body weight percentile according to ideal body weight, and clinical manifestations. Gastric emptying scan was performed with a semi-solid test meal (2mCi of labeled (99m)Tc-suifur colloid-scrambled egg) on 12 healthy, asymptomatic subjects and 17 patients with gastroptosis.
RESULTS
Twenty-one (9.3%) of the 227 subjects had gastroptosis. The ratio of male to female was 1 to 4.57. In age, three (16.7%) of the patients were below the age 40, 14(8.9%) were between 40 to 49, 4(7.8%) were above 50. According to the percentile of ideal body weight, 4(8.6%) of the 14 subjects were under the 90 percentile, 15(12.6%) of the 179 subjects were between 90 to 110 percentile, and 2(0.02%) of the 94 were above 110 percentile, which significantly higher in that of under 110 percentile of ideal body weight. The symptoms, which were complained in 8 of the 21 patients, were epigastric discomfort, belching, hunger pain, constipation, and nausea. The mean gastric emptying time (T1/2) was 69.8min and 92.6min in control and gastroptosis group, respectively. T1/2 was delayed in 7(63.6%) patients with symptomatic gastroptosis and 1 control.
CONCLUSION
The gastroptosis was more common in female and lower body weight group and had a tendency of delay in T1/2z. We consider that gastroptosis may be one of the possible cause of non-ulcer dyspepsia in Korea.