Korean J Gastrointest Endosc.  2000 Sep;21(3):723-729.

Usefulness of Intraductal Secretin Test in Assessing Exocrine Pancreatic Function in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

• Choi HS
• Cho YJ
• Hahm JS
• Han DS
• Sohn JH
• Jun YC
• Yoon BC
• Lee MH
• Lee DH
• Kee CS
• Park KN
• Park IG

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The duodenal intubation test (duodenal secretin test; DST) is now considered the 'gold standard' test of exocrine pancreatic function in detecting exocrine pancreatic dysfunction in patients with chronic pancreatitis. However, the DST has not been widely used, because it is time-consuming, invasive, and labor-intensive. On the other hand, intraductal secretin test (IDST) with endoscopic retrograde cannulation of the main pancreatic duct has been showed similar diagnostic efficiency compared with DST. We assessed the clinical usefulness of IDST and investigated parameters for assessing impaired pancreatic function of IDST.
METHODS
Pure pancreatic juices were collected from 12 patients with chronic pancreatitis by endoscopic cannulation after a bolus intravenous injection of secretin 100 U, for 15min in three 5-min intervals. Five parameters of IDST were measured, and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of IDST evaluated compared with ERP.
RESULTS
When we regarded mean-1.5 SD as the lower limits of IDST, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of five parameters to detect chronic pancreatitis were 91.7-100%, 75-87.5%, and 85-90%, respectively. Among five parameters, pancreatic juice secretory volume, bicarbonate concentration, and amylase output showed the highest diagnostic accuracy, followed by lipase output and bicarbonate output. A 10-min collection showed as much information as a 15-min collection.
CONCLUSIONS
10-min intraductal secretin test is useful as the conventional exocrine pancreatic function test in detecting exocrine pancreatic dysfunction in patients with chronic pancreatitis and the most discriminatory parameters are pancreatic juice secretory volume, bicarbonate concentration, and amylase output.

Keyword

Intraductal secretin test; Duodenal secretin test; Pure pancreatic juice; Exocrine pancreatic function test; Chronic pancreatitis

MeSH Terms

Amylases
Catheterization
Hand
Humans
Injections, Intravenous
Intubation
Lipase
Pancreatic Ducts
Pancreatic Function Tests
Pancreatic Juice
Pancreatitis, Chronic*
Secretin*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Amylases
Lipase
Secretin