Long-term follow-up study of gastric emptying and Helicobacter pylori eradication among patients with functional dyspepsia.

Studies on the influence of Helicobacter pylori gastritis on gastric motility have produced inconclusive results. We investigated the effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy on gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia in a placebo-controlled double-blind study with one year follow-up. A standardized scintigraphic double-tracer examination was used. Of the 40 subjects, 29 were H. pylori-positive patients with functional dyspepsia and 11 were asymptomatic control subjects. Gastric emptying parameters were: postlag 50% retention time for solids (T50), gastric emptying half-time for liquids (T1/2), solid lag duration, and intragastric distribution of solids. At baseline, the scintigraphic examination was performed for all study subjects to detect any major alterations between dyspeptic patients and asymptomatic control subjects. Thereafter every patient was randomized to receive either H. pylori eradication therapy or placebo; in addition they also received omeprazole 20 mg once a day for three months to stabilize the acid suppression therapy. After one year scintigraphy was repeated for the patients. The solid lagtime was prolonged among dyspeptic patients compared with asymptomatic controls (P = 0.02). After one year there was no significant difference between H. pylori-eradicated and placebo-treated patients in any gastric emptying parameter. However, good reproducibility of the scintigraphic examination showing the gastric emptying rate of solids (r = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.07-0.69; P = 0.02) and liquids (r = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.09-0.69; P = 0.02) continued even after one year of follow-up. In conclusion, eradication of H. pylori has no impact on gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia, but the long-term trend in individual gastric emptying rate is stable.