Glucose tolerance and insulin secretion after caudal resection of the pancreas in children.

Plasma levels of glucose and insulin were measured during the oral glucose tolerance test (2.0 g/kg, for 180 min) in six children who had undergone caudal pancreatectomy for pancreatic trauma or non-functioning tumors. Fasting plasma levels of glucose and insulin were the same in these patients and in ten children with an intact pancreas. After glucose ingestion, hyperglycemia was apparent throughout the test in patients in whom one third of the entire pancreas had been left intact, but not in patients in whom over a half of the whole pancreas had been preserved. Plasma levels of insulin in these patients, however, were not significantly different from those of the controls. It is suggested that factors other than the response of plasma radioimmunoassayable insulin contribute to the production of glucose intolerance in cases of extensive pediatric pancreatectomy.