Xylose absorption before and after surgical correction of atrial septal defect (asd) and ventricular septal defect (vsd).

The aim of the study was to ascertain whether the acceleration of physical development in children after surgery for ASD or VSD is due to improved intestinal absorption. There were 17 patients with ASD and 9 patients with VSD (aged 5-15 years) examined. Significantly increased values of the xylose test after surgery were found in both groups. The authors suggest that the improvement in intestinal absorption is due to an increase of systemic blood flow after operation. Simultaneously, the stldy confirms, on natural human model, the known dependence between blood flow and the intestinal absorption rate.