The gastric secretion profile of patients with chronic renal failure.

The secretion of gastric juice, HCI, and sialic acid was investigated in 45 patients with chronic renal failure, 13 patients with gastric ulcers, 52 with duodenal ulcers, and 27 control patients during the dose-response pentagastrin test. The renal patients had low gastric juice and HCI secretion both in the basal condition and during pentagastrin stimulation. It was almost of the same magnitude as in patients with gastric ulcers. The basal sialic acid secretion in renal patients did not differ from that of the controls, but in patients with peptic ulcers it was significantly higher. During pentagastrin stimulation the differences decreased. Stimulated maximal HCI output values in relation to sialic acid output were also similar in the gastric ulcer and renal patients. Thus the gastric secretion profiles, excluding the basal sialic acid secretion, were quite alike in patients with chronic renal failure and those with gastric ulcers.