[Modified Cr51-chromium-albumin test for the differential diagnosis of exudative gastropathies and enteropathies].

A modification of the 51Cr-chromium-albumin test allows differentiation between protein-losing gastropathy and protein-losing enteropathy. After i.v. application of 51Cr-chromium-albumin, radioactivity is measured in the gastric fluid (basal after pentagastrin and after atropine, each for 1 h) and in the stools (96 h). In 9 healthy controls, radioactivity in the gastric fluid was 0.11-0.08% (x+/-SD) of the injected dose in the basal period, 0.28+/-0.04% after pentagastrin and 0.08+/-0.32% after atropine, respectively. Output of non-peptic protein in the gastric secretions paralleled the measured radioactivity. In a patient with edema due to hypoproteinemia associated with Ménétrier's disease, there was also a decrease in protein exsudation in the stomach when atropine was administered. After therapy with an anticholinergic drug, hypoproteinemia disappeared. Anticholinergic drugs may therefore be useful in the treatment of some cases of protein-losing gastropathy.