The Value of the Insulin Test in Predicting Recurrence after Vagotomy and Drainage for Duodenal Ulcer

Abstract

A complete follow-up of 500 patients with duodenal ulcer was made 3–4 years after truncal vagotomy and drainage. Several associations were found between the results of an insulin test, performed 10 days after the operation, and the indications for reoperation due to recurrence within 3–4 years based on clinical findings. Seven criteria of recurrence were set up by a simple discriminative analysis of fasting, spontaneous, and insulin-activated secretion. All the criteria had a higher discriminative ability, than those of Hollander, but their value in the diagnosis of recurrence was small.

Key-words:

• Duodenal ulcer
• gastric acid secretion
• insulin test
• predictive value
• recurrent ulcer
• vagotomy