Radionuclide Colon Transit Study in Normal Chinese

Received 12/26/2000; revised 2/1/2001; accepted 2/9/2001. For correspondence or reprints contact: Shyh-Jen Wang, M.D., Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160, Sec. 3, Taichung Harbor Road, Taichung 407, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel: (886)4-23741349, Fax: (886)4-23741348, E-mail: [email protected] Background: Scintigraphic techniques using gammaemitting radionuclides provide useful tests for evaluating gastrointestinal motor function. These techniques can be used to evaluate patients with suspected abnormal motor function. In 1989, Camilleri et al. developed a radionuclide colon transit method. However, preparation of the marker is complicated. Recently, we have used a commercial enteric capsule to avoid the complicated coating procedure. Thus, the colon transit study can be performed very easily. For clinical practice, a normal reference range for the procedure is warranted. The purpose of the study was to set up a normal reference range for Chinese. Methods: Fifty-five normal healthy volunteers were studied. Static images were acquired at regular times, then the geometric center values were calculated. Results: The geometric center values for these normal healthy volunteers at 6 h and 26 h were 0.85 ± 0.44 and 2.51 ± 1.18, respectively. Conclusions: The normal reference range for Chinese was similar to the data from Mayo Clinic. Our new method for radionuclide colon transit study is a simple, physiologic and quantitative method for evaluating colon transit.