[Diagnostic evaluation of tubeless methods in the study of external secretions of the pancreas].

Difficulties of examining the external secretion of the pancreas by direct secretin-pancreozymin test prompted us to try 4 probe-free methods for functional assessment of the pancreas in 33 patients with chronic acalculous cholecystitis, 50 patients with reactive pancreatitis concomitant with duodenal ulcer, chronic duodenal obstruction, etc., and in 22 patients with primary chronic pancreatitis during a relapse. The Benda-Zheltvai method with assessment of the debit of uric excretion of alpha-amylase during three 30-min intervals before and after standard food loading and calculation of the pancreozymin induction coefficient, assessment of the ratio of alpha-amylase and creatinine clearance from their content in the urine, the proserine provocation urotest, and Lasus test for hyperaminoaciduria resultant from exocrine insufficiency of the pancreas were used. The Benda-Zheltvai method proved to be a sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis of exocrine insufficiency of the pancreas; moreover, it can be used for assessing the treatment efficacy. The proserine test helps assess the type and severity of disorders of pancreatic external secretion. The ratio of alpha-amylase to creatinine clearance demonstrates just the most expressed disorders of pancreatic exocrine secretion during the relapse of primary chronic pancreatitis. Lasus test for hyperaminoaciduria detects pancreatic dyscrinia and provides valuable information about the function of the pancreas.