Neurogastroenterology and motility : the official journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society
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Neurogastroenterol. Motil. · Sep 1995
Postural changes in proximal gastric volume and pressure measured using a gastric barostat.
A barostat was used to examine the effect of changes in posture on the volume and pressure in a bag positioned in the proximal stomach of 14 normal volunteers. Volumes in the supine position were compared with those in the standing, left lateral and right lateral positions at a constant pressure 2 mmHg above basal intragastric pressure. A separate series of measurements was then used to evaluate the effects of the same postural changes on pressure within the bag whilst its volume was kept constant. ⋯ Moving from supine to standing had inconsistent effects on bag volume and pressure. There was a negative correlation between the magnitudes of the changes in pressure and volume (r2 = 0.557). The observed effects of posture probably result from changes in the compression of the stomach by abdominal viscera and indicate that subject position must be specified and maintained constant in studies of proximal gastric motor function using a barostat.