Study of parotid and mixed saliva in the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.

A study on the diagnostic value of the parotid and mixed saliva assay after stimulation with 1% pilocarpine hydrochloride was carried out in 36 controls and 26 patients affected with chronic pancreatitis. No statistical difference between the two groups was found as far as saliva volume, bicarbonate and amylase (concentration and output) are concerned. No correlation was found between the results of the saliva test and those of the secretin-pancreozymin test or endoscopic retrograde pancreatography. These data excluded any diagnostic role of the saliva test in chronic pancreatitis.