Gastroduodenal manometry is a specialized test that measures the muscle contractions and pressure changes that occur in the stomach and upper intestine (AKA the duodenum) as food moves through the GI tract.
Gastroduodenal manometry is often used to help diagnose motility disorders (AKA dysmotility), which are medical issues that can impact how fast or slow food moves through the gastrointestinal tract as food is digested.
Gastroduodenal manometry is usually used to help diagnose patients whose symptoms suggest they have motility issues in their stomach and upper intestine, but who have been unresponsive to treatment or have normal gastric emptying test results. Gastric emptying is how fast food moves out of the stomach.
Gastroduodenal manometry can often help determine whether a patient’s motility issues are a result of a nerve disorder or a muscular disorder. Other conditions gastroduodenal manometry can help diagnose include:
Gastroduodenal manometry involves inserting a thin, pressure-sensitive tube called a catheter down the throat, through the stomach and into the upper intestine (AKA the duodenum). This catheter is fitted with special sensors that can monitor pressure changes and muscle contractions as food moves through a patient’s gastrointestinal tract.
The catheter is placed while the patient is under sedation, using a special device called an endoscope. During the gastroduodenal manometry procedure, the catheter is usually passed through one nostril, down the throat, through the stomach and into duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine.
Once the gastroduodenal manometry catheter is in place, it is connected to a computer that analyzes muscle contractions and pressures in the patient’s stomach and upper intestine, usually both while the patient is resting and after small meals.
The gastroduodenal manometry catheter is usually left in place for between five to 24 hours so data can be collected on muscle contractions, pressures and motility inside the stomach and duodenum.