The steak and barium meal: a method for evaluating gastric emptying after partial gastrectomy.

The rate of emptying of the gastric remnant after partial gastrectomy has been evaluated in 67 males by means of a meal of beefsteak and barium, and serial, hourly X-rays. Sixteen of the patients had retention after 4 hr, and 8 of these had symptoms (ie, early satiety, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, pain, weight loss), possibly related to gastric retention. The results suggest that the use of steak and barium may be a useful method of determining gastric emptying; also, gastric retention in the postgastrectomy state may be the cause of symptoms.