Bentiromide:xylose test in healthy cats.

The N-benzoyl-L-tyrosyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (bentiromide):xylose test for simultaneous evaluation of pancreatic exocrine function and intestinal absorptive function was studied in 8 clinically healthy cats. Plasma p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and xylose concentrations were determined before, and at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 minutes after, a solution of bentiromide (1 g/100 ml) and D-xylose (10 g/100 ml) was given orally at a dosage of 5 ml/kg of body weight. The peak plasma concentrations for PABA occurred between 60 and 120 minutes, with highest mean value at 90 minutes (7.5 +/- 3.2 micrograms/ml), and for xylose between 30 and 120 minutes, with the highest mean value at 60 minutes (42.6 +/- 17.8 mg/dl). Large SD in plasma PABA and xylose concentrations indicated marked individual variation between healthy cats. It was concluded that (i) large variations between clinically healthy cats may limit the diagnostic usefulness of the bentiromide:xylose test in the cat, and (ii) guidelines for interpretation of plasma PABA and xylose concentrations reported previously for clinically healthy dogs could not be applied to cats because values were lower in cats.