Pancreatic secretion in man: effect of fasting, drugs, pancreatic enzymes, and somatostatin.

The inhibitory effect of different drugs on pancreatic secretions was assessed in a patient with a posttraumatic pancreatic-cutaneous fistula. The various drugs examined were: pancreatic enzymes, cimetidine, verapamil, propantheline, acetazolamide, and somatostatin analog octreotide. Only fasting and octreotide reduced pancreatic secretion. The optimum dose of octreotide was 50 micrograms bid given subcutaneously; increasing the dose up to 100 micrograms tid had no additional benefit. A stable pancreatic-cutaneous fistula is an excellent model to assess the effect of different therapeutic measures on pancreatic secretion.