Please report to Admitting 15 minutes before your scheduled exam time.
PREP: No barium studies 2-3 days prior to the scan. Nothing to eat or drink and no smoking 12 hours prior to exam time. Discontinue any medication likely to interfere with gastric motility. Diabetic patients should be studied after receiving two thirds of their usual insulin dose.
PURPOSE: A Gastric Emptying Study is a simple procedure to evaluate the transit time of a meal through the stomach.
WHAT TO EXPECT: You will be given a plate of scrambled eggs to eat along with a small glass of water to drink. The eggs will have a small amount of tasteless radioactivity in them to allow for imaging. Immediately after eating, you will lie on a patient bed for 90 minutes under a camera to observe the eggs as they pass through your stomach. You will need lie very still during the entire test. Feel free to bring an iPod or other listening device for relaxation.
TIME FRAME: 2 hours
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS: Minimal to no side effects from the radioactive isotopes. If you are allergic to eggs, please let Radiology know before your exam so an alternative meal can be prepared.
IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, INFORM THE TECHNOLOGIST BEFORE THE EXAM