Abstract

Abnormalities of duodenal motility have been described in patients with duodenal ulcer and in experimental ulcers in rats and it has been postulated that they could be pathogenic in peptic ulcer disease. We have investigated with an isotopic technique whether duodenal bulb clearance or duodenal transit are abnormal in duodenal ulcer. Six patients with inactive and six with active duodenal ulcers, all men, and six healthy male controls were studied. Motility of the duodenum was simultaneously monitored. A bolus of 99mTcDTPA was injected into the duodenum while water or acid were perfused on different occasions. Duodenal bulb clearance and transit to the ligament of Treitz were calculated. Duodenal transit in duodenal ulcer patients 108.8 (23) sec was faster than in controls, 194.9 (5.1) sec (p less than 0.05) during the quiescent period of the motility cycle. The frequency of duodenal bulb contractions during acid perfusion was higher in duodenal ulcer patients 1.7 (0.4) cont/min, than in controls 0.8 (0.1) cont/min (p less than 0.05). No other significant differences were observed between ulcer patients and controls. These data suggest that patients with duodenal ulcers do not have major abnormalities of duodenal bulb clearance, nor of duodenal transit and that duodenal motility does not play a primary role in the pathogenesis of the ulcer.