The ultrasound meal accommodation test in 509 patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders

Abstract

Aim: The Ultrasound Meal Accommodation Test (UMAT) is a clinical test used to assess gastric accommodation, gastric emptying, and visceral sensitivity. It has been used as a clinical tool at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen for more than 20 years.

Material and methods: Five-hundred and nine patients were retrospectively evaluated, 71% females, and 51% were referred from other hospitals or specialists. The aim was to explore the usefulness of UMAT in patients with suspected functional GI disorders (FGID).

Results: One hundred and sixty patients were diagnosed with functional dyspepsia (FD), and 154 patients were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The overlap between IBS and FD was 41%. In 36% of FD patients, ultrasound assessment showed impaired gastric accommodation. Of 262 patients filling out all required fields for the FD diagnosis (ROMA II and III), 198 (74%) met the criteria for FD, but only 91 (34%) were later diagnosed with FD by an experienced clinician.

Conclusions: By combining ultrasonography, the symptom response to a standardized meal, and psychological assessment, the UMAT is useful in diagnosis and management of patients with FGID.

Keywords:

• FGID
• functional dyspepsia
• gastric accommodation
• gastric emptying
• irritable bowel syndrome
• ultrasound
• visceral sensitivity

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Funding information

The study was supported by MedViz (http://medviz.uib.no/), an interdisciplinary research cluster from Haukeland University Hospital, University of Bergen, and Christian Michelsen Research AS. Elisabeth K. Steinsvik has received funding from National Center of Ultrasound in Gastroenterology, and National Center of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.