Bicarbonate and Acid Secretion in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Disease

Abstract

Petersen, H. 1970. Bicarbonate and Acid Secretion in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Disease. Scand. J. Gastroent. 5, 555-559.

The bicarbonate response to one clinical unit/kg of pure natural secretin injected intravenously, and the acid response to high doses of histamine or pentagastrin injected subcutaneously, were examined in 132 subjects. In 87 of these no clinical evidence of pancreatic disease was found, whereas 10 had chronic pancreatitis and two pancreatic cancer. The findings in subjects without clinical evidence of pancreatic disease showed that the rate of acid output is of importance for the evaluation of the response to secretin. The bicarbonate output was in the present study superior to the peak bicarbonate concentration and volume in differentiating between subjects with and without pancreatic disease.

Key-words::

• Acid
• bicarbonate
• gastric secretion
• histamine
• pancreatic secretion
• pentagastrin
• secretin