[Vitamin A absorption test. I. Pancreatic insufficiency and sprue (author's transl)]

The vitamin A absorption test and its interaction with the secretin-pancreozymin test, the d-xylose absorption test, fecal fat content and the small intestine biopsy are estimated on their significance in the diagnosis and course of sprue and pancreatic insufficiency. The investigation includes 39 patients with different stages of pancreatic insufficiency and 10 patients with sprue. First it results relatively wide spread normal values in a control collective with sometimes unexplained low values, the significance of the vitamin A absorption test as screening test therefore is limited. Secondly the absent rise after vitamin A ingestion in serum after 3 and 6 hours favours the diagnosis of sprue, correlates with the histological findings of the mucosa and appears more reliable than the d-xylose test. Thirdly this test seems to allow the differentiation between malabsorption and maldigestion when steathorroe is proved: In contrast to sprue-syndromes pancreatic insufficiency shows significant reduced 3 hour values at subnormal 6 hour values after vitamin A ingestion.