Endogenous bile acid tolerance test and its clinical significance--series of total bile acid levels in plasma before and after contraction of the gallbladder in patients with chronic liver diseases.

Series of total bile acid levels in blood plasma of definite time intervals before and after administration of three different stimulants, i.e. caerulein, egg yolk and fatty meal, were investigated in 10 normal subjects as a control group, in three patients in the florid stage of acute viral hepatitis, in 15 patients in the convalescent stage of acute viral hepatitis, in 10 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, in 15 patients with chronic aggressive hepatitis, in 20 patients with cirrhosis of the liver and in 15 patients with fatty liver. This procedure can be regarded as an endogenous bile acid tolerance test and can be utilized as a differential diagnostic tool for chronic liver diseases.