Published online Oct 1, 1995. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v1.i1.48
Revised: June 20, 1995
Accepted: August 20, 1995
Published online: October 1, 1995
AIM: To investigate the pathogenesis of abnormal gallbladder (GB) emptying and the effect of domperidone (Dom) on GB emptying in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
METHODS: The effects of DOM on GB emptying were studied in 20 IBS patients and 18 healthy controls by real time ultrasonography, using randomized, double-blind, and controlled methods.
RESULTS: Fasting GB volume was significantly higher in IBS patients than in controls (24.136 ± 1.38 cm3vs 19.793 ± 1.487 cm3, x-± sx-, p < 0.01). In controls, 30 min after 10 mg Dom orally, the GB ejection fraction (GBEF) was decreased significantly (p < 0.005), and the magnitude of this decrease was greater after 20 mg Dom. The difference between these two doses was not significant (p > 0.05). In IBS patients, GBEF was significantly increased 15 min after 10 mg Dom orally (p < 0.01), and the magnitude of this increase was greater with 20 mg Dom (p < 0.001). This difference was even more marked with prolongation of time after oral Dom. The GBEF in IBS patients with segmental contraction was significantly less than that with hypermotility (p < 0.01), and the increase of GBEF was more marked after oral Dom in IBS patients with segmental contraction than those with hypermotility (p < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: GB emptying function is abnormal in patients with IBS. The feeble contractility of the GB and/or the incomplete relaxation of Oddi sphincter may be factors that directly affect GB emptying in IBS patients. Dom can significantly improve GB emptying function and may decrease the risk of forming GB stones in these patients.