Effect of surgical trauma on plasma insulin and somatostatin in response to glucose.

The role of somatostatin for the suppression of insulin release in the early post-traumatic phase was investigated by measurement of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in plasma during an intravenous glucose tolerance test. In accordance with previous findings the increase of insulin in response to glucose was significantly (p less than 0.001) reduced 2 hours after laparotomy as compared to control subjects. Simultaneously plasma somatostatin was decreased significantly (p less than 0.05). The present data with hormone determinations in peripheral blood does not support the hypothesis that somatostatin, a potent inhibitor of insulin release, mediates the insulin suppression in the early trauma phase.