Ultrasonic evaluation of gastric clearing in young infants.

Gastric emptying was determined using ultrasound in young infants. Gastric volume was calculated from anteroposterior, craniocaudal and laterolateral antral diameters. There was a linear decline of the logarithm of a gastric filling index over time in normal subjects. The mean clearing angle in normal subjects was 52 degrees (range 45-59). Examples of significantly different clearing rates could be demonstrated in a variety of clinical conditions. In several subjects gastric emptying rate was not exponential. Ultrasound seems very promising for the study of gastric emptying, especially in young children.