Liquid gastric emptying as an adjunct to hepatobiliary scintigraphy when oral corn oil is used as a cholecystagogue for determining gallbladder emptying.

During times of sincalide shortage, a fatty meal can be used to stimulate gallbladder contraction during hepatobiliary scintigraphy. However, if a patient has an abnormal gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF), is the cause chronic cholecystitis or is it inadequate cholecystokinin stimulation due to poor gastric emptying? Hence, during the 2014 sincalide shortage, simultaneous liquid gastric emptying using (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid along with corn oil emulsion was initiated as routine practice in patients evaluated for GBEF. The objective of this study was to retrospectively assess the time course of gastric emptying in these patients, especially with regard to whether delayed gastric emptying may be a factor in some patients with a poor GBEF.

METHODS

My institution's clinical imaging procedure during the 2014 sincalide shortage consisted of routine (99m)Tc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy followed by corn oil emulsion and (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid orally. Dynamic imaging with regions of interest encompassing the gallbladder and the stomach allowed determination of GBEF and gastric emptying. For this study, the imaging records for 53 consecutive patients undergoing this clinical procedure were reviewed. The time for half gastric emptying, along with percentage gastric emptying at the end of imaging, was evaluated in relationship to GBEF.

RESULTS

Seventeen patients had a normal GBEF (74% ± 14%) and satisfactory gastric emptying (31 ± 21 min for half emptying, 75% ± 14% emptying at end of imaging); 17 patients had a normal GBEF (77% ± 17%) despite unsatisfactory gastric emptying (only 30% ± 14% emptying at end of imaging); 5 patients had an abnormal GBEF (19% ± 9%) and satisfactory gastric emptying (26 ± 19 min for half emptying, 82% ± 14% emptying at end of imaging), supporting a diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis; 11 patients had an abnormal GBEF (26% ± 9%) but also unsatisfactory gastric emptying (only 26% ± 13% emptying at end of imaging), which did offer additional support for a diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis; and 3 patients had a borderline GBEF (40% ± 2%) with satisfactory gastric emptying (59% ± 6% emptying at end of imaging).

CONCLUSIONS

Simultaneous liquid gastric emptying can provide additional information in the interpretation of GBEF when a fatty meal is used as an oral cholecystagogue, especially to help differentiate chronic cholecystitis from inadequate cholecystokinin stimulation due to poor gastric emptying.