pH and concentration of pancreatic enzymes in aspirates from the human duodenum during digestion of a standard meal in patients with intestinal disorders.

The material comprises 25 patients with gluten-induced enteropathy and 16 patients with various intestinal disorders. The intestinal contents were aspirated in four subsequent periods of 20 minutes each after ingestion of a standard meal. The volume, pH, and the concentration of alpha-amylase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and lipase were determined in the collections. Only minor deviations from normal pH-levels were observed. In both groups of patients, the secretion of lipase, and to a minor degree that of amylase, were more markedly reduced than the secretion of the proteolytic enzymes. With the exception of the values of trypsin, concentrations of enzymes were seen to be below the lowest normal value in approximately one-third of the patients throughout the period of digestion. It is concluded that the pancreatic function was genuinely reduced in several patients with enterogenous malabsorption. It may be explained as an unspecific effect of the malabsorption.