Effects of Glutamine on Gastric Emptying

November 15, 2009 updated by: University of Nottingham

The Effects of Supplementing Glutamine on the Gastric Emptying Time of a Preoperative Metabolic Conditioning Drink in Healthy Volunteers: a Randomized Crossover Pilot Study

Surgical patients are usually starved for 8 hours before operation in order to ensure the stomach is empty and thus reduce the chances of vomiting during the anaesthetic. Recent studies have shown that this period of starvation is harmful as it 'weakens' the body before operation. To avoid the harmful effects of starvation, patients are now given carbohydrate (sugar-containing) drinks 2 to 4 hours before surgery. These drinks have been shown to make patients feel better, reduce sickness after the anaesthetic/surgery and result in a quicker recovery from operation. The optimum time of giving these drinks to patients before operation is unknown. Previous studies have shown that the drinks empty from the stomach within 2 - 4 hours depending on their ingredients. The investigators would like to study the effects of adding protein and fat to these drinks on how quickly the drinks empty from the stomach. This study will investigate the hormone responses of the body following intake of 3 different drinks in order to determine the mechanisms that underlie the control of stomach emptying. This information will also allow us to improve the design of these drinks and this could help patients who undergo surgery who receive them.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The eligibility criteria for this study are as follows:

Interested participants will be asked to attend a screening interview during which the study procedures/risks/benefits will be explained, followed by a brief history and physical examination. If deemed necessary by the study investigator, a 7ml sample of blood will be taken for screening purposes. The volunteer will be deemed eligible for the study once they have passed the screening visit and [when performed] had normal screening blood investigation results.

Each volunteer will be studied 3 times, the order of which will be determined randomly by computer. Participants will report for the study at the Division of GI Surgery (E-floor, West Block, Queen's Medical Centre), at 7:15am. On arrival the subject's height and weight will be recorded and 'drip needle' will will be placed in the back of the wrist. The hand will be rested in a hand-heater allowing venous blood to be sampled.

The subject will be randomly allocated to receive one of the three study drinks. At 7:50am baseline blood will be sampled (10ml [1.5 tablespoons] via the drip needle). At 8am the volunteers will drink the study drink. The rate of stomach emptying will be measured by using Gamma scintigraphy (a specialised medical camera). The drinks will have added a tracer substance that is visible on the camera and allows us to follow drink as it passes through the stomach into the bowels. Each 'picture' of the stomach lasts 20 seconds and we plan to take these every 20 minutes for 4 hours after intake of the drink. At 20 minute intervals (until 220 mins have elapsed) 7ml (1 tablespoon) of blood will be sampled via the drip needle. The final 10 ml blood sample will be taken at 240 minutes following which the drip needle will be removed and the volunteers will be allowed home. The subsequent two studies will be performed 7 days following the first study.

In total 95ml (a sixth of a pint) blood will be taken during each of the 3 crossover studies which will be separated by a period of 7 days (i.e. a total of 285 ml [half a pint] blood will be required from each volunteer).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

15

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Nottinghamshire
      • Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, NG7 2UH
        • Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre Biomedical Research Unit

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy male Caucasian volunteers aged 18-60 years,
  • BMI of 20-25 kg/m2,
  • Able to give voluntary written informed consent to participate in the study,
  • Able to understand the requirements of the study, including anonymous publication, and agree to co-operate with the study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any history of acute or chronic illness,
  • Smoking,
  • Regular medication or substance abuse,
  • Have taken part in any other clinical study within the previous 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Nutricia PreOp + Lipid
Dietary supplement: Nutricia PreOp nutritional supplement
nutritional supplement
Dietary supplement: Lipid
Drink
Active Comparator: Nutrica PreOP + Glutamine
Dietary supplement: Nutricia PreOp nutritional supplement
nutritional supplement
Dietary supplement: Glutamine
Drink
Experimental: Nutricia PreOP
Nutricia PreOP: carbohydrate only drink
Dietary supplement: Nutricia PreOp nutritional supplement
nutritional supplement

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Gastric emptying time following supplementation of a standardised carbohydrate drink with glutamine.
Time Frame: 4 hours
4 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Nottingham

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dileep N Lobo, FRCS, University of Nottingham

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 17, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 20, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

July 21, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 17, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 15, 2009

Last Verified

November 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 09026

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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