New dimensions in the laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease.

The laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease has been made more precise by certain modifications in older methods and by the introduction of a variety of new technical procedures. The principal human isoamylases may now be distinguished and their activities in serum and urine measured. A test has been devised which helps indicate the presence of acute pancreatitis by showing relatively increased excretion of amylase in the urine as compared with creatinine. The ratio of amylase to creatinine in the urine appears to be a good index of relative hyperamylasuria. A screening test for pancreatic-type hyperamylasuria has been formulated that allows increased urinary excretion of this isoamylase to be identified. These additions and developments have sharpened the interpretation of hyperamylasemia and hyperamylasuria and have added new dimensions to the laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease.