[Raised trypsin concentration in duodenal secretion after a test meal (Lundh test) (author's transl)]

The Lundh test for exocrine pancreatic function was performed on 376 patients. An increased trypsin concentration in duodenal secretion (greater than 28.9 IU/ml) was measured in eight. Seven of them had symptoms of pancreatic disease, six of them with acute episodes. Eight further cases have been reported in the literature, at least two of them definitely having pancreatic disease. Both in the reported cases and in the authors' study the proportion of patients with abnormally raised enzyme concentrations among the group of patients with acute or subacute pancreatitis was significantly greater than in a control group. It is possible that abnormally raised enzyme concentration is due to subacute pancreatic disease and may at times be the only finding. An abnormally raised enzyme concentration in the Lundh test should therefore simply be classified as such and not be taken as the expression of normal or even "excellent" pancreatic function.