Twenty four hour manometric recording of colonic motor activity in healthy man.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Prospective physiological descriptive study in healthy volunteers without a control group
PubMed 3817580 · doi:10.1136/gut.28.1.17
What was done
Researchers recorded motor activity in the transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon over 24 hours in 14 healthy volunteers using a manometric catheter positioned with a colonoscope. Participants consumed two 1000 kcal mixed meals and one continental breakfast during the recording period.
What was found
Colonic motor activity was low before meals and minimal during sleep, with motility index increasing significantly after meals and at morning awakening. Most activity consisted of low-amplitude contractions occurring singly or in bursts without a recognizable pattern. In 12 of the 14 subjects, isolated high-amplitude contractions (up to 200 mmHg) propagated peristaltically over long distances at approximately 1 cm/sec, occurring mostly after morning awakening and in the late postprandial period (mean of 4.4 per subject per 24 hours). These contractions often coincided with an urge to defecate or preceded defecation.
Why it matters
This study provides physiological reference data on continuous 24-hour human colonic motility, demonstrating that high-amplitude propagating contractions represent the manometric equivalent of colonic mass movements.
Limits
The study is limited by a small sample size of 14 participants, lack of demographic details (age, sex) in the abstract, lack of exact numerical motility index values, and the invasive nature of colonoscopy catheter placement which could influence baseline motility.
Cited by
- supports The colon operates strongly on a circadian rhythm, becoming almost completely quiescent at night and producing strong contractions in the first one to two hours after waking.